Labour’s new prisons minister says what he would do if he was in charge in resurfaced clip

Labour’s new prisons minister said “a lot of prisoners should not be in there” in a resurfaced interview.

James Timpson said the UK is “addicted to sentencing and punishment” in an interview earlier this year with Channel 4.

In the clip, Mr Timpson said: “A lot of people in prison in my view shouldn’t be there, and they are there for far too long. It’s getting worse.

“I meet people in prison regulary, who are serving sentences longer than they’ve ever been alive for already, and I just think this is common sense being ignored and evidence being ignored, because there is this sentiment around punish and punish.”