The Labour Government has declined to reveal how many crimes have been committed by prisoners freed under the early release scheme. Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy, speaking during an urgent question in the Commons on Tuesday, asked ministers to publish full data on how many released former inmates have been tagged and whether they will release "comprehensive" figures on reoffending by those let out early.
Justice minister Catherine McKinnell did not provide the details, telling MPs the Government was "working night and day to fix a broken system" it inherited. She said: "We are working incredibly hard with the police, with the Probation Service and all those in the criminal justice system that want to keep the public safe and make sure that victims get the service they need too."
Early release rules under the Sentencing Act 2026
Under the Sentencing Act 2026, most adults serving a standard prison sentence will be released earlier than the original date. Prisoners will leave prison after serving a third of their sentence instead of 40% or 50%. Another group will leave after half their sentence is served rather than two thirds under the scheme, which was brought in when Sir Keir Starmer was prime minister in a bid to ease prison overcrowding.
Prisoners released early should serve the rest of their sentences on licence and can be returned to jail if they breach certain conditions. Some 70,000 criminals have been let out so far.
Tents handed to released prisoners
Reports have emerged that the Probation Service was handing out tents to prisoners being released early after it ran out of housing for them. Ms McKinnell told the Commons it was completely unacceptable for a prisoner to be released with a tent, adding it was not government policy or something ministers want to see.
She added: "That is why we are working at pace to improve the current homelessness situation that we inherited from the previous government to make sure that nobody, including prison leavers, have to leave prison homeless or have to live homeless."
Her comments came after Conservative MPs Sir Ashley Fox and Esther McVey raised concerns about reports of prisoners being given tents upon their release during the urgent question. Sir Ashley argued that issuing those leaving prison with tents is "setting them up to fail", while Ms McVey raised concerns that those classed as homeless would not be tagged, leaving them "roaming the streets without any way of locating them, free to commit more crime".
Mr Timothy said: "So chaotic is Labour's early release scheme, prisoners are being given tents instead of housing upon release. As a matter of policy, these prisoners will be in probable breach of their licence and tagging conditions, which require them to have an approved address – all because the Probation Service is overwhelmed.
"We know two thirds of prisoners... who are sleeping rough go on to reoffend within the first year."
Tagging policy under scrutiny
Mr Timothy also claimed the Metropolitan Police's decision to scale back its enforcement of tag conditions was a result of the Government's early release scheme. It comes after Sky News reported officers under a new pilot scheme will not respond to curfew or tag batteries breaches lasting less than an hour unless the person is considered a particular risk to the public.
Ms McKinnell said: "It's really important not to conflate the release of prisoners and the tagging policy - which we are working at pace to improve from the situation we inherited - and other demands on the police, which we are working very closely with them to resolve."
Chairwoman of the Justice Committee Catherine Atkinson urged ministers to be "more ambitious in using restriction zones which keep an offender within a defined area". The Labour former minister also pressed for tags to be fitted to prisoners "as they walk out of the prison gate", to ensure victims feel safe.
Ms McKinnell said the UK's restriction zones are "world-leading", adding that tagging systems will be installed "at the prison gate as soon as possible".
