Dutch judges no longer fear conditions at Walton jail are inhumane - paving the way for fugitives from Liverpool to be sent home.
Officials at the Court of Amsterdam from the UK over concerns suspects' human rights would be breached if they were held on Hornby Road.
New documents obtained by the ECHO reveal judges in the Netherlands are now satisfied conditions at the site are no longer degrading.
In 2017 Walton jail, officially known as HMP Liverpool, was the subject of a damning watchdog report in which inspectors branded it the worst prison they had seen.
Rubbish-strewn grounds, cockroach and rat infestations and battered cells were among the biggest issues at the Victorian jail.
The findings sparked an overhaul, including the appointment of a new governor who has led a major push to improve the site.
The prison population has been decreased by 500 inmates, allowing for a rolling wing-by-wing refurbishment, while an industrial clean and intense pest control operation have also taken place.
Prison bosses say work remains to be done but do believe the jail has turned a corner as a result of the efforts.
Despite that work a legal battle in May, held over a Merseyside man arrested in the Netherlands, saw fears surface over conditions at Walton.
The fugitive, previously on the run in Spain, had been the subject of a European Arrest Warrant in relation to drug smuggling allegations.
But the 2017 inspection prompted concerns over the conditions the man would be kept in should he be extradited.
Referring to a national report on the state of prisons in the UK, which was published in July 2018, the court heard how inspectors had found "some of the most disturbing prison conditions we have ever seen" and “conditions which have no place in an advanced nation in the 21st century".
Because of his links to Liverpool, judges in the Netherlands postponed the decision to send him to the UK because they feared he could end up being held in Walton - where they said .
They also raised concerns, all disputed by the Ministry of Justice, about Bedford and Birmingham prisons.
The issue returned to the Court of Amsterdam earlier this month during an application to extradite another suspected drugs trafficker, this time with links to Manchester.
Because he was from the North West it was considered he may be held at Walton if extradited.
When discussing whether he could be sent to the UK, the court heard of a new representation sent to Dutch officials in June by the Director General for Prisons, HM Prison and Probation Service.
The documents detail how, while concerns about Bedford and Birmingham remain, new details on the cell space available at Walton had reassured the court.
It was said that: "... On the basis of the latter additional data the real danger of inhuman or degrading treatment of the person claimed after his surrender in detention in Great Britain can be excluded.
"First of all, the court finds that the person claimed will not be placed in the HMP Birmingham and HMP Bedford detention facilities.
"Placement in the HMP Liverpool detention center is still possible.
"The letter of June 12, 2019 states that the cell space per person in this last-mentioned detention institution states that it is at least four metres squared for all cells.
"This communication is supported by detailed information... regarding the dimensions of the different cells.
"For that reason, there is no longer any question of a limited individual scope, which the court previously gave reason to assume a real danger of inhuman or degrading treatment, with regard to the detention institution in Liverpool .
"As a result, there is therefore no real danger mentioned above with regard to the detention institution in Liverpool."
The courts approved the extradition, a decision which paves the way for the Merseyside suspect also held in the Netherlands to be be sent back when his case returns to court.
