People in jail will no soon longer be allowed to wear expensive designer clothing which could be used as a status symbol or as a barter, junior justice minister Ingrid Coenradie has confirmed.

The rule will cover clothing and shoes costing more than €250 and includes a list of brands prisoners will not be allowed to own or wear, Coenradie, who represents the far right PVV, told MPs. It is not yet clear which brands will be included, but the new rules will come into play next June.

Coenradie, who first mooted the idea in October, said expensive clothing could be used to acquire a superior status among prisoners, as bribes, and as blackmail.

“Prisons have reported that clothing is a way of determining a hierarchy among criminals,” Coenradie said at the time.

There are currently no rules about what prisoners can and cannot wear, with the exception of jewellery which is taken away when people go into prison. Until 1983 prisoners were given uniform clothing.

Research has shown that wearing their own clothes helps prisoners to preserve their sense of self and reduces criminal behaviour, the junior minister said.

Most European countries allow prisoners to wear their own clothes within certain limits. In some countries, such as the UK and Germany, prisons can make their own rules.