The ban targets sending many articles, including books, to prisoners: Justice Minister Chris Grayling defends prisoner book rules http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-

The ban targets sending many articles, including books, to prisoners: Justice Minister Chris Grayling defends prisoner book rules http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26726864 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26726864 Ministers defend ban on sending books to prisoners in England and Wales http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/mar/24/ban-books-prisoners-england-wales-authors http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/mar/24/ban-books-pri... The government's argument is that prisoners can still use prison libraries or buy books from approved suppliers using their earnings from work tasks. However, libraries are often very limited in the choice they offer, access can be arbitrarily restricted, and their earnings (average £9.60 in 2008 [1]) are likely to be insufficient for book purchases after paying for more essential items. I agree that this is cruel. It's part of an effort by the government to make prison appear tougher to appeal to its core (right-wing) supporters. [1] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7275026.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7275026.stm