Chief prisons inspector warns of ‘revolving door’ as around 1,750 inmates are set for early release
The chief inspector of prisons for England and Wales has warned that today’s early release of around 1,750 offenders is going to be “risky”.
It is being done to create space in the country’s overcrowded prisons and the government insists the alternative was “unthinkable” and would have led to a “total collapse of the criminal justice system”.
But HMP Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor told Sky News: “It’s a risky time with so many prisoners coming out at the same time. Normally, there are about 1,000 prisoners coming out a week. Most of those 1,000 prisoners will still come out this week. But on top of that, we’ve got 1,700 other prisoners, and then in October, we have another tranche of around 2,000 coming out as well, inevitably, that puts some risks into local communities and greater strain on already stretched probation services.”
Justifying the decision, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “We inherited a prison system on the point of collapse. This is not a change we wanted to make – it was the only option left on the table because the alternative would have seen a total collapse of the criminal justice system.
“We would have seen the breakdown of law and order because courts would not have been able to conduct trials, and the police would not have been able to make arrests.”
Early release will not apply to sexual offences, serious violence and terrorism offences and some cases relating to domestic abuse. The government says it announced the decision as early as possible to give probation services time to prepare.
The mass release coincides with a damning report from the chief inspector which describes a “devastating picture” of life behind bars with “a surge in illicit drug use, self-harm and violence”.
Out of 32 inspected prisons 30 were “poor or insufficiently good” and 60% were overcrowded.
It found that often planned releases were underfunded. At Bedford Prison 30% of those leaving jail had nowhere to live.
Former HMP Parc inmate Zack Griffiths said drugs came into the prison via corrupt officers
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Mr Taylor said: “Unless we make sure that people are kept in decent conditions and that they’re doing the work they need to do in order to go out and be successful when they leave prison, then the danger is we end up, as we see in so many cases, that prisoners are simply a revolving door; untreated mental health problems, untreated drug users, people with nowhere to live when they come out, and that just creates more victims of crime, more mayhem in communities and a prison population that is now almost unmanageable.”
His report says the previous government’s early release scheme lessened some pressures temporarily, but did not solve the problem.
Campaigners say that overcrowding is fatal for some prisoners and that overcrowded jails along with staff shortages, mean that inmates are at greater risk of drug addiction and self-harm.
Earlier this year there were 10 deaths in just three months in Parc prison in Bridgend.
A number are thought to be related to synthetic drugs such as spice and nitazines.
Self-harm also doubled in the prison in the last year from 1,088 recorded incidents to 2,330.
26-year-old Ryan Harding was two months from being released from Parc prison when he died of an apparent overdose in January last year.
Ryan Harding died in prison
He’d not been known to use hard drugs, but his mother Catherine Harding says an ombudsman report found synthetic drugs were in his system.
Ms Harding blames the prison for his death saying her son was more vulnerable because he wasn’t getting enough of his medication for epilepsy, and she believes prison officers were among those bringing drugs onto the blocks.
She told Sky News: “I know there were drugs going in there and it wasn’t the prisoners taking them in, or the visitors, it was the prison officers – there’s no other explanation.”
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Catherine Harding’s son died of an apparent overdose in HMP Parc
HMP Parc is privately run by G4S.
A G4S spokesperson said: “We send our condolences to Ms Harding and the families who have lost loved ones.
“The vast majority of our staff are honest and hardworking, but, in common with other prisons, we face the challenge of criminal behaviour from a small minority.”
The prison can’t comment on Mr Harding’s case because of an ongoing investigation.
There has been a recent case of corruption at the prison.
In August this year Parc prison officer Jodie Beer, 30, was jailed for six years for attempting to smuggle drugs to an inmate concealed in orange juice cartons.
Jodie Beer was jailed following an investigation by Tarian, the southern Wales regional organised crime unit Pic: Tarian
Zack Griffiths, 32, who was in HMP Parc last year for drug offences set up a campaign group called HMP Prisons Justice Group UK.
He said drugs came into Parc prison through corrupt officers, but also drones were being flown up to some of the windows on certain blocks.
He added: “Very often these drugs are be mixed with very potent synthetic opiates. If you’re not a chemist, how would you know or mixtures you give to people? How do you know what the tolerance levels of the person who’s going to take the drugs are? That’s how people end up dead.”
Zack Griffiths says ‘unstable’ inmates are set for release
He says some prisoners are locked up in their cells for up to 23 hours a day and this makes them vulnerable to drug addiction.
He told Sky News: “What we’re talking about here is placing the public at harm, because these people are not being rehabilitated. Inmates are going to come back out onto the streets in your towns, villages and cities, and I consider them to be a higher risk because they’re using drugs, they’re unstable.”
Parc Prison insists it offers a good rehabilitation programme and told Sky News: “We hold a complex cohort of prisoners, many with mental health and substance misuse issues. We are committed to supporting men through our multidisciplinary team of prison and NHS staff.”
Some inmates at Parc will be among the hundreds being released today from prisons across England and Wales.
But with prison recalls already on the rise, it is perhaps inevitable that some will reoffend or breach their bail conditions and find themselves back behind bars.
Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield has resigned from the Labour Party.
The 53-year-old MP is the first to jump ship since the general election and in her resignation letter criticised the prime minister for accepting thousands of pounds worth of gifts.
She told Sir Keir Starmer the reason for leaving now is “the programme of policies you seem determined to stick to”, despite their unpopularity with the electorate and MPs.
In her letter she accused the prime minister and his top team of “sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice” which are “off the scale”.
“I’m so ashamed of what you and your inner circle have done to tarnish and humiliate our once proud party,” she said.
Rosie Duffield. Pic: UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/Handout via Reuters
Sir Keir has faced backlash after a Sky News report revealed he had received substantially more freebies than any other MP since becoming Labour leader.
Since December 2019, the prime minister received £107,145 in gifts, benefits, and hospitality – a specific category in parliament’s register of MPs’ interests.
Ms Duffield, who has previously clashed with the prime minister on gender issues, attacked the government for pursuing “cruel and unnecessary” policies as she resigned the Labour whip.
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She criticised the decision to keep the two-child benefit cap and means-test the winter fuel payment, and accused the prime minister of “hypocrisy” over his acceptance of free gifts from donors.
“Since the change of government in July, the revelations of hypocrisy have been staggering and increasingly outrageous,” she said.
“I cannot put into words how angry I and my colleagues are at your total lack of understanding about how you have made us all appear.”
Ms Duffield also mentioned the recent “treatment of Diane Abbott”, who said she thought she had been barred from standing by Labour ahead of the general election, before Sir Keir said she would be allowed to defend her Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat for the party.
Her relationship with the Labour leadership has long been strained and her decision to quit the party comes after seven other Labour MPs were suspended for rebelling by voting for a motion calling for the two-child benefit cap to be abolished.
“Someone with far-above-average wealth choosing to keep the Conservatives’ two-child limit to benefit payments which entrenches children in poverty, while inexplicably accepting expensive personal gifts of designer suits and glasses costing more than most of those people can grasp – this is entirely undeserving of holding the title of Labour prime minister,” she said.
Ms Duffield said she will continue to represent her constituents as an independent MP, “guided by my core Labour values”.
UK
King Charles hails ‘uniquely special’ Scotland as it marks Holyrood milestone – before being hugged by woman
The King has paid tribute to Scotland as a “uniquely special place” for the Royal Family as he marked the 25th anniversary of the Scottish parliament.
At the ceremony to commemorate a quarter of a century since parliament opened at Holyrood, the King said: “Speaking from a personal perspective, Scotland has always had a uniquely special place in the hearts of my family and myself.
“My beloved grandmother was proudly Scottish, my late mother especially treasured the time spent at Balmoral, and it was there in the most beloved of places, where she chose to spend her final days.”
He said we are all “united by our love of Scotland”, paying tribute to its “natural beauty”, “strength of character”, “diversity of its people”, “passions and frequently deeply held beliefs”.
“From the central belt to the north Highlands, across the islands in Ayrshire, in the Borders, the cities, towns and villages, all the coastal communities, who I wonder, could not fail to be moved by this complex Caledonian kaleidoscope?,” he asked as presiding officer Alison Johnstone and the Queen sat beside him.
After he gave the speech, the King was hugged by a member of the public – who said she did so “because of him being unwell”.
The 75-year-old was diagnosed with cancer in February but has since returned to public duties.
Yvonne Macmillan, 59, from East Renfrewshire, attended the anniversary ceremony with her husband Russell who is registered blind and chosen as a “local hero” for work in their area.
“I asked him if he was feeling better and if I could give him a hug. I actually said to him: ‘Can I hug you?’,” she said.
“As I hugged him I said, ‘God bless you’, so it was like God giving him a hug.”
The King listens to the presiding officer of the Scottish parliament at Holyrood. Pic: PA
The Queen sits alongside the King as he makes his speech on Saturday. Pic: PA
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While Sir Tony Blair’s Labour government legislated for Scottish devolution in 1997 – parliament officially opened at Holyrood on 1 July 1999.
The King has made six visits to the parliament since 1999 – while his mother Queen Elizabeth II made 10 visits during her lifetime.
The King arrives at the Scottish parliament on Saturday. Pic: PA
Scottish First Minister John Swinney is one of a number of MSPs who have been at Holyrood since the start of devolution.
He said in his own speech in Edinburgh on Saturday that the parliament has “placed itself at the very heart of the nation”, describing it as a “vessel of enlightenment, invention and creativity”.
The King shakes hands with First Minister John Swinney in Edinburgh on Saturday. Pic: PA
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The SNP’s Christine Grahame is another MSP who has been there since the start.
“Free tuition, free prescriptions, game-changing policies to tackle child poverty, the ban on smoking, the baby box, ScotRail back in public ownership – none of this would have been possible without the Scottish parliament and the strength of our commitment to self-determination,” she said on Saturday.
The King said the devolved parliament has the ability to “touch and to improve the lives of so many individuals”.
Former first ministers Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf take a selfie as they wait for the King. Pic: PA
But he added that “there remains much more to be done” for Scotland, the rest of the UK, particularly with regards to climate change.
“Let this moment therefore be the beginning of the next chapter,” he told those assembled.
“The achievement of the past and the commitment shown in the present give us the soundest basis for confidence in the future.”
A moped riding phone thief was caught red-handed after police tracked the device down hours after he snatched it from a woman’s hand.
CCTV footage released by police showed a masked moped rider mount the pavement in Croydon, south London, to swipe a phone from a woman’s hand on 6 March, while another victim had theirs stolen while they waited for a bus an hour later.
Amari Scott, 20, looked surprised when confronted by officers inside a shop, where he was found with two mobile phones.
Amari Scott was caught red-handed. Pic: Met Police
“We’ve just had a moped rob a mobile phone off the pavement and the phone is pinging in this location,” one of the officers told him in body-worn camera footage before Scott was handcuffed and led away.
Police also recovered a stolen motorbike and Scott, from Sutton, south London, was later jailed for four years.
Two teenagers who committed four robberies in the space of just half an hour were also arrested as part of a crackdown in Croydon.
Aged 16 and 17, the teens were issued with referral orders after pleading guilty to charges of robbery, attempted robbery and attempted grievous bodily harm.
Amari Scott was jailed for four years. Pic: Met Police
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They were behind a spree of eight robberies across Croydon and nearby Bromley, including four within 30 minutes on the morning of 5 August.
Their crimes, which included the knife point robbery of a rough sleeper outside Croydon library, were caught on CCTV.
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One of the teenagers tried to discard a knife before she was arrested after a foot chase, telling officers: “The knife wasn’t mine”.
The other ran away, leaving a knife and his bag, but was lying in bed at home when he was arrested shortly after.
Two teenagers committed four robberies in 30 minutes. Pic: Met Police
The Metropolitan Police said officers are intensifying efforts to tackle robbery and theft, encouraging victims to report incidents as they happen to increase the chances of catching the criminals.
Chief Inspector James Weston said: “We understand the impact that robbery has on victims – it is invasive and frightening.
“That’s why our teams are working so hard to deter and catch offenders to reassure our local community.
“Thanks to the hard work of officers, our partners and community grassroots organisations, we are stepping up our efforts and tackling the issues that matter most to the people of Croydon.”
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