Prison bosses 'choreographing early release of inmates amid fears it could spark gang violence'

Prison guards are concerned the early release of prisoners could lead to violent clashes in British prisons this week.

Around 1,700 criminals are expected to be set free ahead of time on Tuesday, under the government’s new scheme aimed at freeing up vital space in prisons.

Jails including London’s HMP Wandsworth and HMP Thameside have strict rules in place to prevent members of rival gangs from mixing on-site.

According to reports by MailOnline, prisons will “carefully choreograph” Tuesday’s mass release, staggering the process in a bid to prevent violence breaking out between rivals.

But the source told the outlet that despite the measures, rivals could be brought into contact with one another if there are delays while they are being released, such as when recovering their personal property.

Under the scheme, some offenders will be released after serving just 40 per cent of their custodial term.

Downing Street acknowledged it was “incredibly difficult” for victims to know that the offenders were being released before completing their sentence.

On Saturday, Sir Keir Starmer said he had been forced into the position because the Tory government had not built enough prison capacity.

A No 10 spokeswoman said the prisoners must be released early to avoid “unchecked criminality” as the prison population in England and Wales rose to a record high .

“As the Prime Minister said this weekend, no prime minister should be in a position where there are not enough prison places,” said the spokesperson on Monday.

“That is why we took the immediate decision that we did. And without doing so, prisons would have completely run out of places, and we faced unchecked criminality on our streets with police unable to make arrests.”

She added: “This is another difficult, tough, but necessary action that we’ve taken.

“The approach that the Government’s taken is to ensure that we have safeguards in place so that we can protect the public, and we also recognise how incredibly difficult this will be for victims, and most importantly, under the release plans – which must be in place for every prisoner leaving – under those plans, victims will be told ahead of time. That is important.

“There are also exemptions to ensure that offenders for violent and serious offences are not eligible for release under the scheme.

“Similarly, everyone must be released with a release plan that includes having somewhere to live once they leave prison and support to find work.”

Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson told the BBC: “For those who will be released tomorrow, probation have been working very hard to make sure that there are plans in place.

“People are released on licence and can be recalled if they commit further offences.

“So there’s a whole range of things that are already in place to make sure tomorrow goes as well as we can expect, but clearly nobody wants to be doing this.”

Asked how many prisoners were due to be released on Tuesday, she said: “I understand it’s in the region of about 1,700.”

In a speech at HMP Five Wells, in Northamptonshire, on Friday, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood warned jails will run out of space within weeks leading to "a total breakdown of law and order" without immediate action to address overcrowding.She said prisons were "on the point of collapse", with barely 700 places left in the adult male estate and jails operating at 99 per cent capacity since the start of 2023.

If prisons ran out of cell space, she warned, the country faced the prospect of "van-loads of dangerous people circling the country with nowhere to go".

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