Otis Ferry: prison is ‘namby-pamby’

Otis Ferry, the hunting-obsessed son of rock star Bryan Ferry, has been writing about his life in prison. "Contrary to popular belief, prison life is not tough," he says in a letter to the hunting publication, Horn & Hound. "In this namby-pamby society we even get our own televisions, although I have quickly realised that watching it is quite a punishment in itself."

Ferry, who once stormed the House of Commons to protest against the hunting ban, has been on remand at Gloucester Prison for the last two months on charges of conspiracy to pervert the court of justice. And on Tuesday his request for bail was turned down by magistrates, meaning the lad will spend his birthday and Christmas behind bars. This is not good news, not least because of the recreational activities on offer. 

He adds: "I am not a TV watcher outside prison and so I keep to my books as much as possible. Other than that, we go outside for half an hour every day in a tennis court-sized yard, like battery hens, walk around in circles for a while then return to our cells for the rest of the day."

The 25-year-old, who is the master of the South Shropshire Hunt, also complains that he finds it difficult to talk to fellow jailbirds. "Most of my inmates are under 30 and we don't have much in common. There are not many country men."

Unfortunately for him he will have to put up with this until March, the earliest he is likely to get a trial date due to the backlog of cases. ·