Schofield moved to open prison following hostility at Holloway

Crown prosecutor Penelope Schofield, jailed this month for lying to protect her policeman boyfriend, has been transferred to an open prison after inmates shouted and spat at her on her arrival at Holloway.

It is understood her reception was so unpleasant that she had to be moved to the maternity unit at the prison hospital for the few nights that she stayed at the London women's prison.

Her solicitor, John Hume, a partner at London practice Ralph Hume Garry, said: "We tried to smooth the way for her as best we could; her probation officer was very good. Unfortunately, prosecutors and policemen usually have a rough time from fellow inmates."

To the surprise of her lawyers, who had not been expecting a custodial sentence, Schofield was jailed on Friday 5 December for three months for perverting the course of justice after she lied to protect her boyfriend from a drink driving charge.

She was taken to Holloway, the nearest women's prison, immediately after being sentenced at the Old Bailey, but has now been transferred to Drake Hall women's open prison in Staffordshire.

A Prison Service spokesman said prisoners were always initially taken to a local jail until a risk assessment could be made by prison staff to find the most appropriate place to hold them. Prisoners sentenced to under 12 months have an automatic release date halfway through their sentence, so Schofield should be at Drake Hall six weeks before being released in the middle of January.