U-turn on cabinet minister’s claim rioters will not be freed early

A cabinet minister’s claim rioters will not be freed early to help ease chronic overcrowding in UK jails has been hurriedly rowed back.

Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said those caught up in the recent violence would not be included in the government’s release scheme. But a government source later said he had “misspoke”.

Last month ministers announced plans to release some inmates early to free up prison space, blaming the decision on the last Conservative government and overcrowding.

Asked if he could guarantee that rioters would not be set free early under the scheme, Mr Reynolds told The Camilla Tominey Show on GB News: “I understand that they won’t be.”

He added that it was “because of those difficult decisions that were made by the ministers in the new government… that there is capacity in the system to deal with this disorder”.

However, sources later made clear that some of those involved in the riots could be eligible for the scheme - depending on what their conviction is for and the length of their sentence, with violent offenders being unlikely release candidates.

Ministers say they were forced to act after just hundreds of places were left in the adult male estate. Prisons have been routinely operating at over 99 percent capacity since the start of 2023.

The early release scheme is due to run for at least 18 months, but could last longer. Greg Smith, the Tory MP for Buckingham, has accused Labour of sending mixed messages over the issue saying: “They can’t say they’re tough on rioters and then let them out of jail after only five minutes.”

Earlier the justice secretary Shabana Mahmood warned that the impact of the violent scenes on the country’s streets would be felt in the criminal justice system “for months and years”.

Mr Reynolds also urged the public to support local businesses affected by the riots.

“If you care about these brilliant local businesses that are the heart of your community, please give them your support in the days and weeks ahead,” he said.

But he denied he was concerned the days of riots, broadcast on television screens across the globe, could affect foreign investment in the UK.

He said he was “not worried” about the issue despite Labour’s hopes that overseas cash can help the UK’s growth.

As the violence spread this week, the chancellor Rachel Reeves was holding meetings with global investors during a three-day visit to the US and Canada, where she told them: “Britain is open for business.”

Mr Reynolds said: “It is clearly a difficult thing to have to contend with as a country. However, I would say that, for the big investors that I talk to, they’re more motivated by the political stability of the government, by the certainty of the tax regime, by the changes to planning policy and a whole range of other pro-business measures that we’re putting in place.

“And, certainly, for our investment summit, which is coming up in October, we have a huge amount of interest in it, so I’m not worried about the effect.”

He added that while the costs of the riots were unclear, the impact on small businesses was “very significant”.He said he is seeking to make insurers pay claims promptly and alert businesses that they might be able to access support under the Riot Compensation Act if they are not insured or not adequately covered by insurance.