Labour reveals exact number of prisoners set to be released onto UK streets early
The New Justice Secretary made the announcement during her first Commons outing today amid widespread controversy.
Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood has revealed the exact number of prisoners set to be released early under the Government’s controversial justice plans.
The Justice Secretary made the announcement to parliament this morning, in her first Commons outing since the election.
Ms Mahmood set out that a whopping 5,500 prisoners will be let out of jail prematurely, as the Government warns prisons are at breaking point.
Speaking in the Chamber this lunchtime, Ms Mahmood said: “It has become clear since this Government too office two weeks ago that our prisons are in crisis and at the point of collapse”.
“The male prison estate has been running at over 99 percent capacity for the last 18 months.”
She accused Rishi Sunak of leaving behind a ‘ticking time bomb’ regarding the prison crisis when he called the general election.
She added: “If that bomb goes off, if our prisons run out of space, the courts would grind to a halt, suspects would not be held in custody and police officers would be unable to make arrests.
“If we fail to act now, we face a total breakdown of law and order.
“The Government has no option but to introduce a temporary change in the law… subject to the agreement of both houses, those serving eligible standard determinate sentences will leave prison after serving 40 percent, rather than 50 percent, of their sentences in custody."
She revealed that a Government impact assessment suggests this will mean around 5,500 offenders will be released in September and October as a result of this change.
Ms Mahmood did not set out when she expects to be able to reverse this controversial measure, but insisted she had not taken the decision lightly.
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However shadow Justice Secretary Ed Argar said the paramount consideration must be protection of the public after criminals are released even earlier than usual.
He warned that the Tories have “significant public protection concerns” over Labour’s new approach to freeing up prison capacity.
Mr Argar demanded to know whether domestic abusers convicted of common assault, and repeat offenders, could be released early under the new scheme, and demanded GPS tracking for any prisoners released early.
Ms Mahmood has previously insisted that “serious sexual and violent” criminals will remain behind bars.
The Justice Secretary conceded after a speech at HMP Five Wells in Northamptonshire: “I am aware that every option is one that presents a risk.
“The risk of a breakdown of law and order, I think, is much greater and one that no responsible government could ever tolerate.
“Our government will not tolerate that risk. So, we are making this difficult decision today.
“But I hope that the implementation period that we are going to make, the way that we are making these changes, will allow probationers the time they need to do those early release plans, to try and make sure that they are both in place in the usual way, making decisions about how they help those who are being released, and also keeping the public safe.”
The scheme will come into force in September and will be reviewed after 18 months.
