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The justice secretary has unveiled new plans to tackle the overcrowding crisis that has engulfed jails across the country.
In a speech at HMP Five Wells in Northamptonshire, Shabana Mahmood said failing to ease pressure on prisons could cause a “total breakdown of law and order”.
Thousands of prisoners are to be released earlier than planned as the government attempts to avert the “collapse” of the prisons system.
The plans would see a temporary reduction in the proportion of their sentence many prisoners must serve in jail from 50 per cent to 44 per cent.
This would not apply to violent offenders serving more than four years, sex offenders or those in prison for crimes connected to domestic abuse.
The change is expected to come into force in September, with the Justice Secretary also announcing the recruitment of 1,000 additional trainee probation officers by March.
Ms Mahmood added there was now “only one way to avert disaster”, adding that the measures would “give us the time we need to address the prisons crisis”.
It comes as Nigel Farage is set to return to GB News next week after being elected as an MP on his eighth attempt, the channel has confirmed.
Ofcom repeatedly found that the broadcaster breached rules on impartiality, which allow politicians to present current affairs programmes but not act as newsreaders.
Probation chief raises concerns about released prisoners’ risk to public
Chief inspector of probation Martin Jones questioned whether there is “enough time” to get probation processes “right” ahead of the early release of some prisoners under Government plans.
He told Times Radio: “The probation service has a caseload nearly three times the number of those in prison.
“Now, they need to ensure that they identify the risk that those people represent and that they identify what their needs are when they leave prison. Do they have accommodation? Do they have jobs to go to? Do they have, for example, drugs and mental health support in the community?
“Now, my concern is, is there enough time to get that right, to ensure they get the right information and that they can then deal with those people effectively when they leave prison.
“Our recent inspection programme has found that there’s some real problems at the front line with the probation service at the moment, particularly in relation to staffing. Some areas that we inspect have fewer than 50% of the probation officers they need. So how are they going to have the capacity to ensure that they safeguard the public when they’re being released from custody?”
Suella Braverman blasts Labour’s early release prison plan
Former home secretary Suella Braverman has accused Labour of copying the Tories with its plan to tackle overcrowding with the early release scheme.
The Tory right-winger said she and her MP colleagues had managed “to stop the government doing it”.
She tweeted: “Labour is picking up Tory ideas & putting the public at risk.”
She added: “Everyone and his mother should run to be leader. But we’ve all got to start taking responsibility for what we did. And for the things we shamefully left undone. Such as not building enough prisons.”
New Reform deputy leader Richard Tice out and about in Skegness
The newly appointed Reform deputy leader Richard Tice has been out and about in his constituency.
The MP for Boston and Skegness has been pictured with local councillors after Ben Habib was sacked from the role.
Food bank launches campaign to end subsidised ‘fine dining’ for MPs
Catering services in the Houses of Parliament run at a loss, so public money is effectively spent bankrolling politicians’ lunches.
As well as MPs, there are around there are 14,000 parliamentary pass-holding staff who can eat and drink in parliament’s bars and restaurants.
Our reporter Jabed Ahmed has the full story:
Victims’ commissioner welcomes plans to exclude domestic abusers and stalkers from early release
Baroness Newlove, the victims’ commissioner for England and Wales, said the decision to exclude domestic abusers and stalkers from the prison early release measure “is a welcome and necessary step, reflecting the concerns raised by victims and those who advocate for them”.
In a statement, she said: “Public safety must remain the top priority as these changes are implemented. We must acknowledge these exclusions have limitations and cannot address every potential risk.
“Clear communication with victims is essential to building trust throughout the process. It is important victims are informed if release dates are brought forward and are given the opportunity to request protective measures. Thorough risk assessments are essential, as are robust release plans.”
The said the probation service “plays a critical role” in this and “must be properly resourced to effectively manage licensing conditions and exclusion zones, which are vital for public safety and victim reassurance”.
Transparency and rigorous oversight are “crucial to ensure this new regime effectively prioritises victim safety while putting our justice system on a more sustainable footing”, she added.
Labour will drive ‘disappointed’ Scots to independence, claims defeated MP
A Labour Government will disappoint Scots and push them to supporting independence, an ousted MP has claimed.
Tommy Sheppard was among the wave of SNP MPs ousted at last week’s election, losing his Edinburgh East and Musselburgh seat to Labour and sparking what he said has to be a “time of reflection” for the party.
But despite the SNP dropping to just nine seats at Westminster – down from 48 at the last election – Mr Sheppard assured voters “we will be back”.
“For the SNP comes a time of reflection on what has been our worst result for 14 years,” he wrote.
“A very, very bad result. But we will learn from the experience.
“We will regroup and redeploy in the service of our country. We will do better, and we will be back.”
Jeremy Corbyn brands Labour’s victory ‘loveless landslide’
The former Labour leader has branded Sir Keir Starmer’s victory in the general election a “loveless landslide”.
Writing on The Guardian, the independent Mp for Islington North said the election result was a reflection of voters’ discontent with the Tories and Labour.
Mr Corbyn wrote: “The general election did not allow for the full expression of people power. Rather, we saw a rejection of the political establishment, leading to a loveless landslide; this election saw the second-lowest turnout since 1918 and the smallest combined vote share for the two main parties since 1945. Public discontent with a broken political system will only grow as the government fails to make the real change that people expect.”
He added: “That energy needs somewhere to go. It needs to be channelled. It needs to be mobilised. That’s why our campaign will organise with those who have been inspired by our victory to build community power in every corner of the country. Once our grassroots model has been replicated elsewhere, this can be the genesis of a new movement capable of challenging the stale two-party system.
“A movement that offers a real alternative to child poverty, inequality and endless war. A movement that provides a real opposition to the far right – one that doesn’t concede ground to divisive rhetoric, but stands by its principles of anti-racism, equality and inclusion.”
Cleverly jokingly dispels rumour – by admitting he is a Warhammer fan
Shabana Mahmood : Tories have left a ticking time-bomb behind
The justice secretary has described the state of prisons left by the Tory government as a “ticking bomb” of a “total breakdown of law and order”.
Speaking from HMP Five Wells in Northamptonshire, she said: “The last government left us with a time-bomb, ticking away. So let me explain what happens if that bomb goes off. Soon, the courts would grind to a halt, unable to hold trials. The police would have to stop carrying out arrests. With officers unable to act, criminals could do whatever they want, without consequence.
“We could see looters running amok, smashing in windows, robbing shops and setting neighbourhoods alight. In short, if we fail to act now, we face the collapse of the criminal justice system. And a total breakdown of law and order. This is not the plot of some dystopian film. This is the legacy of the last Conservative Government. This is the legacy of the guilty men.”
Justice secretary: ‘Sunak and his gang in Number Ten are guilty men’
Labour’s justice secretary has branded Rishi Sunak’s cabinet the “guilty men” behind the state of overcrowded prisons.
In a bruising speech, Shabana Mahmood said: “Those responsible – Sunak and his gang in Number Ten – should go down in history as the guilty men. The guilty men who put their political careers ahead of the safety and security of our country. It was the most disgraceful dereliction of duty I have ever known.”
Hitting out at the former prime minister, she said: “We now know that the former Lord Chancellor tried to address this challenge. He tried to warn the then prime minister. But, instead of taking responsibility, Rishi Sunak called an election. He tried to hoodwink the electorate. And he was punished at the ballot box.”
Ms Mahmood accused the Tories of putting “their political careers ahead of the safety and security of our country”.
She added: “Time and again, they ducked the difficult decisions that could have addressed this challenge. Instead, they kept the public in the dark about the state they had left this country in. They were too weak to heed the warning signs that were flashing. They chose instead to put the country at risk.”
