The new owner of Reading Gaol recently spoke out on his plans to convert the historical building into a hotel, museum, and art gallery.

In his statement to the BBC, Chinese businessman Channing Bi who bought the site from the Ministry of Justice for £7m in January gave vital information on the fate of the jail's Banksy artwork. 

In 2021, a portrait by the celebrated street artist Banksy appeared on a prison wall.

The image showed a prisoner escaping on a rope made of bedsheets tied to a typewriter.

Mr Bi said "of course" the work by Banksy will stay.

He said: “I know the painting is very important, and the meaning for me is very very useful, and gave me some ideas.

"People need freedom and I think it will stay a long, long time in Reading."

According to the BBC, some parts of the prison are Grade II listed but Mr Bi said if Reading Borough Council granted planning permission, the work could be finished in just two years.

Mr Bi, who founded the Ziran Education Foundation, said he has other business interests that will help “to support this project" financially.

He said it will not require a loan and the costs would not be offset by building flats on any part of the site.

The prison, built in 1844, has been empty for more than 10 years.

When talking about what inspired him to purchase the prison Mr Bi said: “The prison’s history makes me think that freedom is very important.”

Oscar Wilde spent two years at the jail after being convicted in 1895 of gross indecency - effectively for being gay.

He spent the last three years of his life in exile in France, where he composed his last work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol, describing an execution at the prison.

Earlier in October, it was revealed the site will be called The ReCentre, with initial discussions indicating that the foundation aims to provide a hotel and museum on the site. 

The last inmates of Reading Gaol were moved more than a decade ago in November 2013, with the site closing the following year.

The Prison was briefly opened for the Art Angel exhibition in 2016, but since then it has been closed.

The Art Angel exhibition featured artwork and recitals of Wilde's poem 'The Ballad of Reading Gaol'. 

There were hopes that Reading council itself would be able to purchase the Prison, a bid that failed.