Daniel Johnson

A total of 1,420 prisoners are currently being held in these cells, with one in every 10 single-cells in the prison estate housing more than one inmate.

Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf admitted the figures in a letter to Labour justice spokesperson Daniel Johnson MSP.

Last month it was revealed that a majority of the country’s prisons began the New Year at, or beyond, their capacity with HMP Barlinnie in Glasgow operating at 139 per cent capacity in December while HMP Inverness at 137 per cent.

Mr Johnson, said: “Scotland’s prisons are bursting at the seams as authorities struggle to cope amid a lack of resources from the SNP government.

“We shouldn’t have Victorian-era prisons with overcrowded cells in 2019, it is simply not acceptable.

“The SNP Justice Secretary, Humza Yousaf, must come to Parliament and outline what he will do to end this scandal in our prisons.

“Labour knows that you cannot keep our communities and prisons safe on the cheap and that’s why in government we will invest in our public services to end the scandal of doubled-up cells.”

A Scottish Prison Service spokesman explained that doubling-up was not new.

He said: “For at least 20 years prisons have been doubled-up in single cells.

“Our aspiration is for one prisoner to one cell, except for in circumstances where it would be better for prisoners to share.

“Prison numbers are what they are, and while we want to get to the stage where each prisoner can have their own cell, yes, many prisoners currently are in doubled-up cells.

“But the reality is that we’ve had unprecedented investment.

“There has been bigger investment in the last 12-15 years than we have had in our history, allowing us to move away from Victorian-style prison conditions to modern, fit-for-purpose facilities.”