UBP Senator Kenneth Bascome has accused the Government of acting illegally over its handling of remand prisoners.

Sen. Bascome told yesterday's meeting of the Upper House that due to a mixture of staff shortages and high inmate numbers at Westgate, remand prisoners were mixing with full-time inmates.

"Westgate is overcrowded," he told the Senate.

"We have people who are on remand who are being put in the regular prison because there is no room. And the Government needs to know that this is illegal.

"When they are on remand they have not been sentenced to incarceration so they should not be interacting with people who are incarcerated."

He also said that people who were eligible for parole were not being treated fairly as the parole board was not meeting regularly enough.

And Sen. Bascome also threw his weight behind the Prison Officers Association in its ongoing battle with the Ministry of Home Affairs over the state of the prison service in Bermuda.

Sen. Bascome told the meeting of the Upper House: "It is amazing that at this time we are hosting a conference in Bermuda that is supposed to be giving our officers better advice on how to handle correctional facilities but they are boycotting the conference.

"It is difficult to understand how the people who are charged with looking after people sent to our institutions are expected to do so when they themselves are in an environment that does not inspire them to do their bit.

"It is very difficult to comprehend how this conference is going to help Bermuda and its correctional facilities to deliver what we are looking for them to deliver.

"The Government needs to do something to support the officers who are dealing with inmates."

Attempts by The Royal Gazette to seek a comment from the Department of Corrections last night were unsuccessful.