Hundreds of prisoners eligible for release under UK scheme

Hundreds of eligible offenders are set to be released from prisons in England and Wales under an early-release scheme that took effect on Thursday, according to the report.

The scheme was introduced after the prison system came close to running out of space in summer 2024, when fewer than 100 places remained. Under its rules, eligible people serving sentences of up to 19 months can be released after serving one-third of their term.

The plan has drawn criticism from the main opposition Conservative Party, which has warned that dangerous criminals could be freed. Treasury minister James Murray told Sky News: “I think what would make the public less safe is if we had no prison capacity in which to put people who are arrested, suspected of crimes, today.”

The prime minister’s office said last month that the current government had built more than 3,200 prison places. It expects 14,000 to be available by 2031, in what it described as the largest prison expansion since the Victorian era.

More than 70,000 people had been released under the scheme introduced in 2024 as of March, the report said.