A SECOND wave of 1,000 prisoners will be released today under Keir Starmer’s controversial plan to reduce overcrowding in jails across England and Wales.
It is the second mass release of prisoners this year, after around 1,700 prisoners from jails across England and Wales were let out early on September 10.
This morning the Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the mistakes that led to the release in error of 37 prisoners as part of the scheme to ease overcrowding last month have been “ironed out” as the new wave of releases are due to start.
She told Times Radio that those mistakenly released were sentenced according to an older act of Parliament and the error was down to a “mistake in the application of the law”.
She said: “All 37 were returned to custody, and that operational part of the system actually ended up working exactly as it should.
“But those mistakes have now been ironed out, and I’m confident that the releases taking place will now be exactly as we need them to be, and victims who are required to be notified will be notified.”
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