The Ministry of Justice has entered talks to vacate Lancaster Castle prison and return it to the Queen’s property portfolio, the Duchy of Lancaster.

Yesterday, the ministry announced that it wanted to relocate 238 offenders to another site, because the medieval castle (pictured) is costly and difficult to run as a modern training prison.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said: “We have entered discussions with the Duchy of Lancaster and the local council about the future of HMP Lancaster Castle because while it is performing well, it is outdated and expensive to run.

“If an agreement is reached to return the prison to the Duchy of Lancaster, which owns the site, directly employed NOMS staff will be redeployed and we will make arrangements to place prisoners in more suitable accommodation.

“We need prisons to be places where staff are able to effectively rehabilitate prisoners to stop them reoffending, and where capacity requirements are met more efficiently to improve value for money for the taxpayer.”

The Ministry of Justice is undertaking a more aggressive property rationalisation process than other departments. It want to cut its central London offices from 18 down to four, and is also consulting over plans to close 157 courts across England and Wales.

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