Recent figures released by the Ministry of Justice have revealed that injury compensation worth over £10 million has been paid to prison inmates over the past five years, reports the Independent.

The data, which was released following an freedom of information request, shows that in 2009/10 alone, compensation worth over £3.2 million was paid out, including £1.6 million in damages for medical negligence claims.

During last year, the largest payouts were for personal injury claims, with one inmate being awarded £125,000, and another £100,000. In total, £1,575,032 was awarded in 2010/2011.