The Conservatives have said reoffending is “off the charts” as prisoners were once again released early from jail to free up places.
Conservative shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy said the majority of prisoners were not being tagged before release, despite assurances from the Government that the tagging system would be the “toughest in history”.
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.
Inmates cheered and punched the air as they were released.
Speaking during an urgent question in the Commons on Tuesday, Mr Timothy said: “The Justice Secretary told the country that proper safeguards would be put in place with a presumption that all released prisoners would be tagged.
“He called it the toughest tagging regime in history, but that was nonsense.”
He said: “I have some advice for him and his ministers – it is better to work out how to implement your policy before it starts, not after. We know a majority of prisoners are not being tagged before release, and we know reoffending is off the charts already.”
People leaving HMP Durham (Owen Humphreys/PA)
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Justice minister Jake Richards said there should be more contrition from the Conservative shadow minister over his party’s record in government.
Mr Richards said: “We have set out the numbers of prisoners that will be released in each tranche, and that’s publicly available on the Government website. We will be setting out data in relation to prison releases, as we always do, and the next batch of data will be released in January of next year.
“This is a new sentencing regime, and it’s right that we release the data in the appropriate way as we have always done.”
At HMP Durham, one man punched the air in celebration and shouted, “Yes cuzzie”, as he was released.
A man, centre, is met as he leaves HMP Durham (Owen Humphreys/PA)
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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.”
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.
A person leaving HMP Winchester in Hampshire (Andrew Matthews/PA)
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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.
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.