British prisoners have been disconnected after they used Facebook to plot with other criminals and intimidate their victims.

Labour and Maori Party strongholds will be hit if prisoners are stopped from voting, a prison reform group says.

A New Zealander who has spent 18 months in a squalid Jakarta jail without trial has pleaded for help.

A serial prison escapee who spent 50 days on the run has had a further nine months added to his sentence.

The escaped prisoner Kevin Polwart has pleaded guilty to escaping custody after being caught by police this morning.

Judith Collins has criticised the prison guards' union for suggesting the Government's 'three-strike' policy would put guards at risk.

Preventive detention will be retained as a sentencing option for judges under the Government's proposed "three strikes" legislation, Police Minister Judith Collins said today.

Offenders with a record will have "nothing to lose" and could be more likely to kill under the three-strikes law, a prisoners' advocate says.