Dining across the divide: I think certain people need to be locked up'

"For starters Ian She was a little flustered because she'd been held up by an accident on the motorway, but she was really nice. Nina He was like a nice, older guy, welcoming, friendly put me at ease. Ian I had crispy roast potatoes with a chilli mayonnaise, and a pumpkin risotto. And a Basque cheesecake for dessert, which was very indulgent."

"I had crispy roast potatoes with a chilli mayonnaise, and a pumpkin risotto. And a Basque cheesecake for dessert, which was very indulgent. Nina I had hispi cabbage, coley, sticky toffee pudding it was amazing. The big beef Ian I think certain people definitely need to be locked up. A few will probably be beyond rehabilitation and need to stay in for life. Nina had a lot of inside knowledge, pardon the pun."

"The women are cut off from their families, their children. Their mental health was the main problem, which couldn't be dealt with in prison, the staff weren't trained to do it. Ian's stance was that shoplifters needed punishment, but my argument was that they were coming in as part of a job. They go out to rob, they do 12-week sentences, they don't have any sort of rehabilitation."

Ian is a retired operations manager who has done a little film and TV extra work and has always voted Labour. Nina is a 37-year-old tram driver and former prison officer who plans to change her vote to Green or Lib Dem. They shared a convivial meal with rich dishes and desserts. Both discuss criminal justice: Ian believes dangerous offenders should be locked up and some may need life sentences, and that shoplifters deserve punishment. Nina argues prisons fail due to understaffing, lack of funding, and inadequate mental-health care, and that short sentences offer no rehabilitation for repeat low-level offenders.

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