Charles In Jail: Prince Visits Inmates

Prince Charles has visited a prison in Yorkshire to see how support for young Muslim men is helping to stop them reoffending and turning to extremism.

The Prince of Wales walked around HMP Leeds, a Victorian Category B male prison where nearly 16% of the inmates are from the Muslim community.

He was introduced to offenders who are currently being helped by the Mosaic Network, one of his own charities focused on helping disadvantaged young people.

It aims to cut reoffending rates by giving inmates a mentor they can talk to six months before they leave prison, as well as support when they are released.

During the visit the Prince was heard sharing his views with one mentor on how he believes people have been misinterpreting Islam.

He said: "They come from Pakistan or somewhere, with sometimes the wrong ideas about Islam I suspect."

Sky News met 23-year-old Haroon Shah who is just weeks away from being released, but is being supported by a Mosaic mentor.

He ended up in prison three years ago after dealing class A drugs and admitted the idea of leaving prison was daunting.

He said: "There's always big worries about being released, it's a big thing and I have actually been worried a lot regarding what I'm going to do.

"I hope I don't fall into the same cycle, back into the same lifestyle, crime, I can't let my family down anymore, I want to be successful."

On the issue of whether he had been exposed to extremist views during his time inside, he said: "I personally haven't come across radicalisation, in prison or in my community.

"The circles that I was moving around in were more in the criminal lifestyle, you know young lads in my community just looking to make quick money, easy money, drugs whatever it is and I think we need to change that."

When the Mosaic Network was launched in 2009, 12% of the prison population was Muslim, but since then the number behind bars has doubled.

The issue of extremism and the impact it could have on Muslim inmates is clearly one that deeply concerns the Prince of Wales.

Earlier in the year he said the spread of extremist views was alarming.

The project does not work with convicted terrorists, which make up only 1% of Muslim prisoners, but they realise the potential risk of radicalisation cannot be ignored.

Jonathan Freeman from the Mosaic Network said: "What we want to do is ensure that much earlier in the process, these young men have access to positive role models, who are proud of their faith, are proud of being British, who want to contribute to society and want to help those young men to do the same.

"I'm sure if we can do more of that, of course downstream that's got to help that issue."

Even in a Victorian prison like HMP Leeds they are using more modern ways of getting all prisoners engaged in rehabilitation.

An egg-shaped pod has been positioned in the middle of the prison, designed to be a quiet place to talk.

Justin Drake, head of operations at HMP Leeds, has worked in the prison system for 20 years.

He said: "There are the punitive measures, security aspects of everyday prison life.

"However, there has got to be something at the end of it for prisoners to step outside of our gate and move into a life, that they do not come back to prison. We must put a stop to that."

So far the mosaic programme has worked with around 200 Muslim offenders, but already it claims to have saved the taxpayer £2.8m by stopping reoffending.

Prisons across the country are now taking up the scheme giving inmates someone to talk to as they prepare to take the next step.