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Glasgow's most notorious jail is 'close down' to make way for a £100 million super jail.

HMP Barlinnie, located in Riddrie, is set to be put up for sale under new plans which have been given the green light by the Scottish Government.

The Sunday Mail revealed the plan for a £100million new jail in today's paper.

According to the Scottish Prison Service three sites have been identified for the new prison, which will be known as HMP Glasgow.

Barlinnie, nicknamed Bar L, is consistently overcrowded and can only hold capacity for 1000 inmates.

(Image: SWNS.com)

The new jail will double in size, the newspaper reports.

A prison source told the Sunday Mail: “This is long overdue. Barlinnie was past its sell-by date many years ago.

“Its conditions are the worst in Scotland and probably the entire UK.

“Barlinnie’s history is dark and violent and it belongs in the past.

“But it’s in a prime location and a lot of developers will want it.

“The SPS will be hoping it generates a huge amount of interest to offset some of the new jail’s cost.”

Barlinnie is notoriously one of Scotland's toughest jails having opened 136 years ago.

The conditions inside the Victorian-built facility have been described as the 'worst in Scotland' for a number of years.