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The Tories have dumped a £23 million prisoner tracking scheme they claimed would give Britain "one of the most advanced GPS tagging systems in the world".

Bungling ex-Justice Secretary Chris Grayling awarded the contract for a new generation of ankle bracelets less than two years ago - bypassing normal competition rules.

Now he faces humiliation after it was thrown out under his successor Michael Gove - who has also ditched Mr Grayling's prisoner book ban, legal aid cuts, court fees and training deal with Saudi Arabia.

In an embarrassing statement today, Justice Minister Dominic Raab admitted the plan for Redditch firm Steatite to develop bespoke GPS-tracked tags had been "challenging".

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He said the Ministry of Justice will now use cheaper off-the-shelf technology instead after the project was beset with "significant problems" and "considerable delays".

He added: "As a result, we initiated a review into the programme, looking at how to get the programme back on track.

"Developing bespoke tags has been challenging and it is now clear that it will be more appropriate to pursue our goals using off-the-shelf technology which is already available.

"That is why the Ministry of Justice will be terminating our contract to develop a bespoke tagging product with Steatite Limited and will shortly begin a new procurement process for proven tags already on the market."

Labour Shadow Justice Minister Jo Stevens demanded to know the full cost to the taxpayer.

(Image: Getty)

She said: "It beggars belief that the Ministry of Justice has had to abandon yet another procurement process.

"From the overcharging scandal to G4S and Serco still being paid to deliver tagging equipment after they had been barred from running the contract, this whole saga has been a shambles from start to finish.

"The Tories must now come clean on how much this latest episode of financial mismanagement has cost the taxpayer and get on with focusing on the rehabilitation of offenders."

Mr Grayling claimed the deal would "create a safer society" when he announced it in July 2014 as part of a four-contract deal he said would save £20million.

A tender document deposited with the EU later showed the Steatite project had been awarded without a call for competition - meaning Steatite's was the only offer made.

The document blamed "extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable" and said the lack of full tendering was within EU rules.

It also put the total value of the contract between £31.5million and £76.5million, higher than Mr Grayling's estimate of £23.2million.

Mr Raab's statement added: "This decision will mean we can proceed with wider changes to the way we manage the programme. We will simplify our approach in order to meet the challenges of technical and business integration and continue to drive and monitor delivery from the other suppliers.

"This remains a challenging programme, which we will continue to keep under review."