UK Labour government faces criticism over prison early-release scheme

The Labour government is facing criticism over its prison early-release programme as a second wave of 650 inmates was released under the new scheme. The programme, which began on October 1, allows certain prisoners to leave custody after serving one-third of their sentence rather than half. It is expected to release up to 50,000 prisoners annually.

Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy has accused the government of a “cover-up,” alleging that ministers are refusing to publish specific data regarding how many released prisoners have been fitted with electronic tags. Timothy claimed that reoffending is “off the charts,” noting that the Metropolitan Police reported 100 tag breaches in London daily since the scheme's inception.

In response to questioning in the House of Commons, Justice Minister Jake Richards stated that data regarding prison releases will be provided in the usual manner, with the next batch of statistics scheduled for release in January. The scheme is being implemented in stages, with the final expansion planned for June next year to include prisoners serving sentences of 12 years or more, though life-sentenced prisoners remain excluded.