37 prisoners incorrectly freed from jail under government’s early release scheme

Some prisoners were wrongly released from jail under the government’s new scheme to free up space, as the result of a system error.

The Ministry of Justice confirmed that 37 prisoners in jail for breaching restraining orders were mistakenly freed after their offences were logged under outdated legislation.

Five of the prisoners have not yet been returned to jail, but the other 32 were taken back into custody.

The department said that the prisoners were incorrectly charged and convicted under old legislation – the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 – when they should have been charged under the Sentencing Act 2020.

This meant that their sentences were not identified as rendering them ineligible for the early release scheme, which they should have been.

The prisoners will each serve the remainder of their custodial sentence, and guidance has been issued to staff to ensure that all future releases are correct, the Ministry of Justice confirmed.

A spokesperson for the department said: “Public safety is our first priority. That is why we took decisive action to fix the broken prison system we inherited and keep the most dangerous offenders locked up.

“This included blocking the early release of domestic abuse offences, such as stalking and controlling behaviour.

“We are working with the police to urgently return a very small number of offenders – who were charged incorrectly and sentenced under repealed legislation – to custody.

“The convictions remain valid, with offenders monitored since their release, and [they] will soon be back behind bars.”

Around 1,750 inmates were released early from jails in England and Wales earlier this month in an effort to alleviate the overcrowding crisis that is overwhelming prisons.

The policy saw the proportion of a sentence that some inmates must serve behind bars temporarily cut from 50 per cent to 40 per cent, amid government warnings that jails were being pushed to the “point of collapse”.

The government’s handling of the early release scheme has been fraught with problems. It emerged that hundreds of prisoners were freed without tags despite the devices being a condition of their release, and another prisoner was accused of sexually assaulting a woman on the same day he was freed. He has since been charged and recalled to prison ahead of a court date.

Pictures emerged of an inmate being sprayed with champagne by their friends at the prison gates as they were released, while ministers faced accusations when the policy was launched that serious career criminals were among those walking free.

Criminals serving prison sentences of less than four years for violent offences, including manslaughter, are among those eligible to be freed under the scheme.

Despite government efforts to prevent domestic abusers from leaving prison early, the restrictions will not apply to all criminals with a history of domestic abuse, as the policy only excludes particular offences, such as stalking.

Attackers convicted of other crimes, such as threats to kill or actual bodily harm, could still qualify for early release.

Rioters involved in this summer’s unrest are also not specifically excluded from early release. They will only stay behind bars for longer if they are serving more than four years for a violent offence.

Terrorists and sex offenders are excluded from the scheme, and will not be freed early.