The criminal justice system in England and Wales was within days of collapse on three occasions before being bailed out by last-minute emergency measures, an independent review has found. The report by Dame Anne Owers, a former prisons watchdog, revealed that Rishi Sunak’s government repeatedly refused to cut prisoner numbers until the system reached a cliff edge.
The review, commissioned by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, found that between autumn 2023 and summer 2024, the prison system was in crisis. Downing Street under Sunak was accused of doing as little as possible as late as possible, with former ministers expressing frustration and anger at the failure to act sooner.
Alex Chalk, the then justice secretary, had called for an early release scheme from mid-2023 but received no backing from No 10. The report states that Chalk advocated for a version of the standard determinate sentence early release scheme to get ahead of the crisis, but was met with inaction until the system was within three days of collapse.
After the general election was called in May 2024, Sunak convened emergency Cobra meetings to discuss invoking emergency powers to release prisoners early if the system collapsed during the election campaign. The report disclosed that senior officials were so concerned about a breakdown that they kept an audit of all decisions in case of a public inquiry.
The Sunak government used early release schemes on three occasions, releasing over 10,000 prisoners early. Labour’s first act after forming a government was to announce a plan to release offenders after they had served 40% of their term, and the government is implementing recommendations from David Gauke’s sentencing review.
