THE Government has rejected a Southampton MP's proposals to deal with the prison overcrowding crisis.

John Denham, Labour MP for Southampton Itchen, has made several calls for criminals to be given tougher community punishments - including being made to clean up their communities wearing brightly-coloured uniforms.

Mr Denham warned that the problem of prison overcrowding would not be resolved until this and other measures were taken to give non-custodial sentences public credibility.

However, constitutional affairs minister Harriet Harman rebuffed the idea of forcing offenders to carry out their community punishments wearing brightly-coloured jackets, saying that such a move would be "stigmatising".

Mr Denham's latest comments came as the Daily Echo revealed how a Southampton Crown Court judge vowed not to bow to Government pressure to jail only the worst and most dangerous offenders.

In an unprecedented move, Judge Jeremy Burford QC, a circuit judge, told barristers and solicitors that his court would not abide by the guidance which "should never have been sent".

Latest Government figures also showed how Winchester Prison currently had too many prisoners - 679 when its operating capacity was 647.

Yesterday the Daily Echo also told how a man in the middle of giving evidence in his rape and threats to kill case was facing the prospect of a 300-mile round trip to Devon overnight because the prison had no room.

Mr Denham said that his idea would show offenders that community orders were not the softer option.

He said: "There is no reason why people should not see offenders in uniform cleaning up their environment and community.

"It's more obvious to the public. Then these sentences mean something and aren't seen as a softer option.

"Otherwise we will keep sending people to prison who could be better dealt with if you sent them elsewhere.

"If there's a tougher element to community punishments and it was more obvious people were losing out through being convicted it would be easier to persuade people of the usefulness of community punishments.

"The prison population has grown. Courts are sending more people to prison for longer periods of time for more minor offences than they were ten years ago.

"We will be back here again in three, five and ten years' time if we build more prisons and don't do anything to build up the credibility of non-custodial sentences."

Mr Denham has suggested that people given non-custodial sentences should lose their liberty on weekends by being made to spend time at attendance centres. Unemployed people with no caring responsibilities should face much longer community sentences so they are a significant inconvenience, he says.