Around 650 prisoners were being released early from London and other jails on Tuesday as part of the Government's attempt to avoid paralysis in the criminal justice system.
The first inmate believed to have been freed early at HMP Wandsworth emerged after 11am. “There's practically no space,” the man, who was out a month early, told GB News. He added: “They are releasing people just so that people can come in from courts.”
Serial shoplifter freed early
The policy has been plunged into growing controversy after one serial offender released from HMP Wandsworth was accused of carrying out a string of thefts almost immediately after walking free.
Michael Bogle, 38, from Brent, was one of around 700 inmates released under the first phase of the scheme earlier this month. The former bus driver had served 78 days in prison after breaching a suspended sentence for shoplifting.
Within 24 hours of his release, he was allegedly caught on CCTV stealing from supermarkets in north-west London, according to court proceedings reported by the Standard. He later admitted four shoplifting offences and was returned to prison.
The case prompted concern from senior Metropolitan Police officers, with Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams warning that prolific offenders were being freed back into communities despite the obvious risks.
Reactions outside the jail
On Tuesday, inmates cheered and punched the air as they were freed under the second phase of the scheme. At HMP Durham, one man punched the air in celebration and described the early releases as a “F****** belta.”
When asked if he had a message for Prime Minister Andy Burnham, another inmate replied: “Scrap the recalls.” Pressed what the conditions were like inside HMP Durham, he added: “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.
Former Crown Prosecution Service lawyer Laila Cunningham, Reform UK's candidate for Mayor of London, criticised the early releases which started last week. Speaking outside HMP Wandsworth, she said: “I've seen what victims go through to get justice. Now we're telling them that because politicians failed to provide enough prison places, the person who terrorised them could be coming out early. The criminal gets his freedom back while the victim gets a life of fear. That is a complete betrayal of justice.”
Government defends the scheme
The Government stressed that the releases were needed to avoid a complete breakdown in the criminal justice system because if prisons could no longer accept more inmates, police cells would quickly fill up and the courts would no longer be able to sentence people.
A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: "Within weeks of coming into office, the Prime Minister and Justice Secretary took action to keep more of the most serious criminals locked up. But we have been honest about the scale of the crisis we inherited in our prisons. If we had failed to act, the police would have been forced to halt arrests, putting communities at untold risk."
She stressed that 14,000 new prison spaces were planned, with 3,300 already built.
