DISGRACED former county council leader Lord Hanningfield opened up about prison life during his first speech in the House of Lords since his release - and quickly dismissed education inside as “rather ridiculous”.

He also told how general knowledge among many inmates was “absent”, and even told how one prisoner assumed he had a castle and asked if he could borrow it to host a rave.

Lord Hanningfield, jailed in 2011 after being convicted of false accounting, led his first debate on the subject of education standards behind bars.

The peer, 75, said: “After the terrible shock of being sent to prison, I thought that I had better try to do something with myself.

“So I spent a lot of time researching and talking to fellow inmates about how they got there and their own situations.

“I found that many of the young people - I did not talk much to the older ones - were unable to read and write.

“My experience of education in prison was rather ridiculous. I was initially given a 2+2=4 type test. “When I was moved to an open prison, I was given the same test.

Lord Hanningfield, who was leader of Essex County Council from 2001 until 2010, said most prisoners had little knowledge of Parliament...or much else.

He said: “I found my initial days in prison very difficult.

“I wish I had been able to have this debate before, but noble lords will understand it is quite difficult for me to talk about it. I found it extraordinary.

“General knowledge is absent in a lot of prisoners.

“Hardly anyone had heard of the House of Lords.

“Someone imagined that every lord has a castle, because they asked me if they could borrow mine for a rave. It is quite an extraordinary thing.”

The peer went on to tell the debate many prisoners sought help from him to understand legal letters and correspondence, and he experienced problems in actually getting proper help to improve himself.

He added: “I said that if possible I would like to improve my IT skills.

“I thought that I would try to do something.

“I heard nothing more at all, which was a common experience for many people.

“Education in prison needs to be brought up the agenda enormously. It is an opportunity missed.

“If only young people in prison could learn to read and do simple mathematics, that could help them to have a career when they get out.”

How expenses scandal destroyed peer's reputation

LORD Hanningfield resigned as leader of Essex County Council in February 2010 after he was accused of false accounting.

He had been a member of the House of Lords since 1998 and a party spokesman for communities and local government until the accusations surfaced.

A court case revealed Hanningfield repeatedly claimed for overnight stays in London on parliamentary expenses when he had in fact returned home to Essex.

On one occasion, he claimed for a stay in London when he was actually on a plane to India.

In July 2011, he was sentenced to nine months in prison, but was released on curfew two-and-a-half months later.

After his release, it was revealed Lord Hanningfield had also racked up a corporate credit card bill of £286,000 during a five-year spending spree as county council leader.

The card helped to fund a lavish lifestyle, including trips to the Bahamas, India, Hong Kong and the USA as well as dinners at top restaurants in Essex and London.

The peer was warned about his claims after a review in 2008, and council officials took his card away in 2009, but the culture of wining and dining at the taxpayers’ expense continued until his resignation as leader.

Until this week, Lord Hanningfield had not spoken in Parliament since his release, but he faced investigation in 2013 when it was revealed he had repeatedly claimed a £300 daily allowance for attending the House of Lords.

An investigation showed he had claimed 11 times in 2013 “without undertaking any parliamentary work”.

In May 2014, a parliamentary watchdog temporarily suspended Lord Hanningfield for “failing to act on his personal honour".

He entered Parliament as a Tory, but now sits with no affiliation after David Cameron removed the party whip in 2010.