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19/06/2007
Prisoners to be released early
Some prisoners will be allowed to be released early in order to ease prison overcrowding in England and Wales, the government has announced.
Justice Secretary Lord Falconer told the House of Lords that the new measure would only apply to prisoners serving sentences of four years or less and those who were up to 18 days away from the end of their sentence.
The new guidance will come into effect from June 29.
Lord Falconer also announced that an extra 1,500 prison places would be made available from January 2008. These will be additional to the 8,000 prison places which were previously announced and are now being built.
The announcement marks a U-turn for the government as last month Lord Falconer said that early release of prisoners would not be an option to solve the overcrowding problem.
The move has been criticised by the Conservatives. Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said: "This is disgraceful and a direct consequence of the government's absolute failure to deal with the crises in our prisons.
"It is bad enough that the British public have been paying the £1 million a week bill to keep offenders in court cells. Now they are going to pay with their safety."
The Liberal Democrats said that the move was the "criminal justice policy of the madhouse". The party's justice spokesperson Simon Hughes said: "If the government thinks it has been tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime by allowing judges to decide on sentences and then letting other prisoners out early it has learnt little in the last ten years.
"We can only hope that a new Prime Minister and new ministers apply policies that work and end this growing and dangerous crisis."
(KMcA/JM)
Justice Secretary Lord Falconer told the House of Lords that the new measure would only apply to prisoners serving sentences of four years or less and those who were up to 18 days away from the end of their sentence.
The new guidance will come into effect from June 29.
Lord Falconer also announced that an extra 1,500 prison places would be made available from January 2008. These will be additional to the 8,000 prison places which were previously announced and are now being built.
The announcement marks a U-turn for the government as last month Lord Falconer said that early release of prisoners would not be an option to solve the overcrowding problem.
The move has been criticised by the Conservatives. Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said: "This is disgraceful and a direct consequence of the government's absolute failure to deal with the crises in our prisons.
"It is bad enough that the British public have been paying the £1 million a week bill to keep offenders in court cells. Now they are going to pay with their safety."
The Liberal Democrats said that the move was the "criminal justice policy of the madhouse". The party's justice spokesperson Simon Hughes said: "If the government thinks it has been tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime by allowing judges to decide on sentences and then letting other prisoners out early it has learnt little in the last ten years.
"We can only hope that a new Prime Minister and new ministers apply policies that work and end this growing and dangerous crisis."
(KMcA/JM)
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Thousands of UK prisoners may get the right to vote after the Government conceded defeat in a long-running battle with the European Court of Human Rights over the issue. According to reports, the Government has reluctantly accepted the European court's ruling that the current ban, which has been in place in the UK for 140 years, is unlawful.
Prisoners May Get Right To Vote
Thousands of UK prisoners may get the right to vote after the Government conceded defeat in a long-running battle with the European Court of Human Rights over the issue. According to reports, the Government has reluctantly accepted the European court's ruling that the current ban, which has been in place in the UK for 140 years, is unlawful.
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