More criminals will be freed by mistake under Labour’s early release scheme, prisons bosses admit

Comment now Next MORE criminals are likely to be freed from jail by mistake under Labour’s early release scheme, prison bosses have admitted. A government report has said the “risk of releases in error is currently significantly heightened” because officials are hastily having to recalculate lags’ let-out dates. 3 Prisoners were released early this month having served only part of their sentence in prison 3 Tory Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy has criticised the early release scheme Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Advertisement Thousands of inmates are being freed having served just a third of their sentence as part of an effort to ease the jail overcrowding crisis. But the Tories last night accused Labour of “putting the public at risk” after chiefs conceded there was a fresh danger of criminals being wrongly sent back on the streets. Sign up for the Politics newsletter Thank you! Email address Please provide a valid email. Your info will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy You'll now receive top stories, breaking news, and more, straight to your email. The Prison Service paper said that “incident rates are higher at times of peak change” and while mitigations are in place they “cannot remove the risk entirely.” Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy said: “Labour’s shambolic early release scheme has put the public at risk , and now they admit that more prisoners will be released by mistake thanks to their incompetence. “We told Labour from the start to exclude killers and rapists from early release, but they waited until the last minute to act, which is causing chaos across the prison system. “Labour designed every aspect of this scheme, and it was their choice to free thousands of criminals, but when more prisoners are released by mistake it will be the public who will pay the price.” Last week a further 650 offenders were freed early, following the first tranche of 700 inmates earlier this month. A total 5,000 prisoners in total are set for early release as part of the scheme to free up desperately-needed cells. Advertisement Most read in The Sun FOOT ON THE GAS Labour will FINALLY approve North Sea gas field after months of dithering RIVER TRAGEDY Mum & baby dolphin tragically put down after getting stuck in mud in Devon 'TERROR' PROBE Iranian & Brit re-arrested for 'assisting Iran' amid RAF 'bomb' plot probe DISGRACED CADET Police cadet, 23, who 'sexually assaulted teen boy' faces 15 years in jail Ministers have said that rolling out electronic tagging will help authorities monitor criminals serving the remainder of their punishment in the community. But top cops have reported high rates of reoffending and lags breaking their tagging conditions. In the year to March 2025 some 262 prisoners were accidentally released – a 128 per cent increase on the previous year. It included notorious migrant sex pest Hadush Kabatu who sparked a nationwide manhunt after The Sun revealed he had mistakenly been let out. A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “We inherited a prison system on the brink of collapse. Had we failed to act, police would have been forced to halt arrests, putting victims and the public at untold risk. “Every possible step is being taken to ensure releases are carried out safely, accurately and in an orderly way, including staggering releases over nine months and imposing the toughest-ever range of controls on offenders leaving custody. “We’re investing up to £82m to modernise the system and reduce any administrative errors, including digitising archaic paper-based processes.” Advertisement 3 Sex offender Hadush Kebatu was memorably freed by mistake last year Comment now