MINISTERS have refused to re-open a wing at Dartmoor Prison which could hold up to 100 prisoners ? despite the overcrowding crisis in prisons. Conservative MP for South West Devon Gary Streeter said it was an ?extraordinary decision? by the Government not to reinstate the prison?s C wing, which has been out of use for five years. Mr Streeter, who raised a parliamentary question over the issue, said: ?At a time when we are desperately short of prisons, here we are with with an established prison wing sitting empty ? surely there is some justification for renewing it and putting prisoners in as quickly as possible? ?I can?t understand the argument that it is uneconomical to do so and cheaper to build new prisons.? The Government has given the go-ahead for the early release on licence of thousands of inmates serving jail terms of four years or less in a bid to reduce the large prison population ? it would not include those on convicted of serious sexual or violent offences. Ministers have also said that police cells may continue to be used until the end of the year to house prisoners. ?It seems bonkers to me to let criminals out early rather than spend money on doing up a roof to encarcerate prisoners who are raiding our homes and breaking into our cars,? added Mr Streeter. Justice Minister David Hanson said Dartmoor prison?s C wing was permanently taken out of use in November 2002 because it was no longer ?fit for purpose.? ?Refurbishment was considered but was not as economically viable as building new accommodation at a better strategic location,? he said. A Prison Service spokesman said: ?A new capacity-building programme which will deliver 8,000 new prison places by 2012 was announced in July 2006. ?A further 1,000 places were announced on June 19. Work will start immediately on 500 of the new places, the first of which will come into use in January 2008. ?The National Offender Management Service is closely monitoring the prison population and continues to investigate options for providing further increases in capacity.?