Its objective is to support the education, relief and rehabilitation of offenders in custody and in the community, believing that equipping prisoners with skills and confidence is crucial in reducing reoffending rates.

Through National Prison Radio, the PRA helps provide prisoners with access to information on: accommodation; education; training and employment; health; drugs and alcohol; finance, benefits and debt; children and families; attitudes, thinking and behaviour.

[2] The PRA was established as a charity in 2006 by a number of people, including entrepreneur Roma Hooper OBE, advertising exec Mark Robinson and a manager at the BBC, Kieron Tilley.

The PRA aimed to offer guidance and expertise to prisons interested in setting up and running their own radio projects.

[5] The programme featured prisoners serving sentences for violent crimes in a studio with people whose lives had been impacted by serious violence.

Later that year, Andrew Selous, then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Minister for Prisons, Probation and Rehabilitation at the Ministry of Justice, officially opened National Prison Radio's refurbished studios in HMP Brixton.

Programmes include information and educational materials which support HMPPS’ reducing reoffending agenda.

Performers included Olivia Colman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kate Tempest, Russell Brand, Matt Berry, Clarke Peters and Mark Strong, as well as serving and former prisoners.

The PRA has developed a robust evaluation methodology with support from the BBC and RAJAR, which operates the UK's official audience measurement system for the radio industry.

Patrons of the Prison Radio Association include television journalist Jon Snow, Baroness Shami Chakrabarti CBE, Lord Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE, George the Poet and Raphael Rowe.