The prison population in England and Wales has fallen by more than 2,000 people in just one week, after the start of a government plan to reduce overcrowding.
A temporary early release scheme came into effect on Tuesday 10 September, which sees around 1,750 prisoners released after serving 40 per cent of their sentence, rather than the usual 50 per cent.
Tuesday’s cohort of early leavers were those serving sentences of less than five years.
On 22 October it will be the turn of those with sentences of five years or more – but the government insists it won’t apply to most serious offenders such as killers, rapists and terrorists.
Last Friday, the prison population was 88, 521.
But today the figure has fallen by 2,188, to 86,333.
The release scheme is being done to create space in the country’s overcrowded prisons.
Ministers insist the alternative was “unthinkable” and would have led to a “total collapse of the criminal justice system”.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
Source Agencies
