Suicide fears for Chris Huhne within the walls of overcrowded Wandsworth prison Chris Huhne is expected to start his eight-month jail term in a grim, overcrowded south London prison where inmates are locked up in shared cells for up to 22 hours a day. The former MP is likely to spend up to a month at Wandsworth Prison and will be subjected to a strip search and fingerprinting when he first arrives, according to a former prisoner who now counsels high-profile inmates before they start their jail terms. The 58-year-old is likely to come under close scrutiny from the mental health team and would be seen as a potential suicide risk because of his dramatic fall from high office, said Mark Leech, who is also editor of Converse, the national prisoners" newspaper. A report by the inspectorate of prisons in 2011 found there were about 32 cases of self harm each month in the prison and expressed concerns about the high level of incidents. "The last thing that Wandsworth wants is for Chris Huhne to take his own life," Mr Leech said. It's been an incredible fall from grace and they are likely to err on the side of caution. He may well be taken to the prison hospital for the first few days. Huhne will first be taken to the reception area at the prison, which holds about 50 prisoners from courts in the South-east, to be checked in. "He will be photographed, fingerprinted, strip searched and subject also to ultra-sound searching to ensure he is not carrying contraband such an illicit mobile phone," Mr Leech said. He will be issued with a prison number, the opportunity to make a telephone call and then he will be given the chance to have a shower and be fitted with prison clothes - for a convicted prisoner, blue jeans and a blue-and-white prison shirt. At this point Huhne will be given dinner. "He'll then eat his mystery bowl of stew, in a plastic bowl, with a plastic cup and plastic knives and forks," Mr Leech said. After the first few days of assessment he will be moved to a cell measuring 12ft by 7ft in the main prison wing shared with one or two other strangers. "It's a typical "porridge" cell," Mr Leech said. A single bed with one or two people he doesn't know. That's when it will start to hit him. It's an old overcrowded prison, with very few opportunities and it's pretty violent. There are jobs available, cleaning the wings or operating the laundry - but he won't get a sniff of that. The 2011 report by Her Majesty's Inspector of Prisons found that prisoners were at best locked in their cells for more than 16 hours a day but this could go up to 22 hours. Reformers said that the report suggested the jail could not offer even basic facilities such as a shower each day. "The cell will contain a toilet and wash basin, with a small modesty screen - life as he has known it before today will never be the same again," Mr Leech said. Huhne's move to an open prison would depend on his willingness to accept his sentence and his crime, Mr Leech said. Absconders from more relaxed conditions are often those who are bitter about being jailed. If he secures a move - possibly to Ford open prison in Sussex - this would allow him to receive education, outside work opportunities and home leave. Under Ministry of Justice guidelines, he would be eligible to be let out after serving a quarter of his sentence on an electronic tag and subject to a minimum nine-hour night-time curfew. Huhne has indicated that he plans to write while in prison, a plan Mr Leech advised he take. "He has a hell of a story to tell," he said.