Inmates cheered and punched the air as they were released early from jail as the second phase of a scheme to free up prison places began.
Some 650 more criminals were due to be released from prisons around the country on Tuesday, less than two weeks after 700 were set free early.
At HMP Durham, one man punched the air in celebration and shouted: “Yes cuzzie.”
Asked what he thought of the early release scheme, he replied: “F****** belta.”
When asked if he had a message for the Prime Minister, another inmate replied: “Scrap the recalls.”
The released prisoner explained that although he was from Sunderland, he was being sent to Bristol – where he was arrested – and had to travel there immediately or risk being recalled to prison.
Asked what the conditions were like inside HMP Durham, he said: “Awful. It’s obviously crowded, they just have to get so many people out.”
People leaving HMP Durham (Owen Humphreys/PA)
PA Wire
Another man, released with an electronic tag and a second device which monitors his alcohol consumption, said HMP Durham was a tough, Victorian jail, with poor food and some inmates using the drug Spice.
Some 5,000 prisoners are scheduled to be released in stages over the next year, down from 6,000, after ministers intervened to exempt rapists and the most serious child sex offenders.
Ministers say the expanded early release scheme is needed to prevent the justice system from collapsing, after a summer when the issue dominated news headlines.
A person leaving HMP Winchester in Hampshire (Andrew Matthews/PA)
PA Wire
Criminals will be excluded from the scheme if they have been jailed for a range of offences, including members of child grooming gangs convicted of indecent assault.
Prisoners guilty of manslaughter will also be excluded, meaning the killers of Pc Andrew Harper, who died in the line of duty in 2019, will not be eligible.