HORNY jailbirds spent £25,000 on sex chatlines — and landed the Ministry of Justice with the bill.
Mobiles given to prisoners on probation were blocked from making premium-rate calls.
But a handful of canny inmates worked out that you could request a call back by text — effectively reversing the charges — and the taxpayer was left to pick up the tab.
Nine lags spent more than £2,000 each on the scam, despite the phone provider assuring MoJ chiefs the devices were secure.
Furious ministers had to cut a deal with the network to claw back the cash.
The ruse came about when, as part of special measures relating to coronavirus, thousands of prisoners were let out on licence.
They were given basic mobiles that could only receive incoming calls while they were on the outside.
But officials were baffled when they were slapped with a mega invoice for their use.
A government source said Justice Secretary Robert Buckland “hit the roof” when he discovered the cost had come from sex chatlines.
The insider added: “The Secretary of State was completely livid on hearing about this screw-up as he had been assured these phones could not be used to make calls.
“He told the officials in no uncertain terms that the taxpayers should not pay a single penny of this sordid bill — and to be fair to all involved, we’ve got the right result now.”
It is understood the mobile phone provider waived the bill in full.
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