THE PRISONS Minister has vowed to slash drug use and violence at 10 notorious jails within a year in a military-inspired crackdown.

Rory Stewart will today unveil a “no excuses” back-to-basics regime at ten of the country’s most difficult nicks after taking advice from Army chiefs – and head teachers.

A top brigadier will be seconded to a new college for governors.

And Mr Stewart told The Sun that the new programme would deliver “significant” cuts to drug use and violence within the first 12 months.

He said: “Unless you tackle drugs and violence you can’t calm the prisons down and make them safe. I think we can deliver a significant reduction.”

“You can judge me on whether or not it happens.”

He added: “I’ve spoken to the Army, but also business and head teachers. In many ways it’s like turning around a problem school.”

The Sun revealed plans for the crackdown in May.

Under the final details to be released today staff will be trained to implement a regime that sets the “highest expectations” for lags and seeks to “firmly restore order and control”.

They will be asked to clear up rubbish strewn yards.

Some £10 million will be spent putting airport-style drug scanners into ten jails, as well as sniffer dogs capable of detecting psychoactive substances.

But cash will also be spent on repairing basic infrastructure such as broken windows.

The ten jails – Hull, Humber, Leeds, Lindholme, Moorland, Wealstun, Nottingham, Ranby, Isis and Wormwood Scrubs – are centred in three clusters – Yorkshire, north Midlands and London.

The programme comes after a dramatic rise in drug-fuelled violence in the UK’s prisons over the past five years. Shock figures last month revealed there were 9,003 attacks on staff in the year to March 2018 – up 26 per cent.

HMP Bedford was placed in “special measures” in May after inspectors said safety levels were “unequivocally poor”. The Government had already had to intervene at HMP Nottingham earlier in the year.

Mr Stewart said: “We need to make these prisons calmer, more orderly places. That comes down to challenging and managing prisoners consistently, firmly and fairly.

“Through these vital improvements to 10 prisons, we can set a course for the rest of the estate to follow.”