UK lets go of thousands of prisoners because of severe overcrowding

(MENAFN) released more than 26,000 inmates early, including some serving long sentences, according to official data referenced in reports. Between September 2024 and March 2025, this group included 248 individuals convicted of serious offenses with sentences of 14 years or more.

Most of those freed under this initiative are British nationals, but the figures also show that over 2,600 foreign prisoners were included. The program allows certain inmates to be released after serving just 40 percent of their sentences, resulting in an average of 3,461 early releases each month. At this pace, estimates suggest that up to 45,000 prisoners could be freed by the end of the program’s first year.

Reports indicate that many released prisoners expressed gratitude toward Prime Minister Keir Starmer and pledged to be “lifelong Labour voters.” However, there have been instances where some individuals committed new crimes mere hours after their release.

A spokesperson for the Justice Ministry defended the policy, stating that the Labour government “had no choice but to take decisive action to stop prisons overflowing and leave police unable to make arrests” after the previous Conservative administration left the prison system in a critical state. The government is reportedly working on building 14,000 new prison spaces and reforming sentencing rules to prevent future overcrowding.

Criticism came from Conservative justice spokesman Robert Jenrick, who called the number of early releases “shocking” and said it contributed to a sense that “Britain feels lawless.” He added that the public is “sick of soft justice.” Additionally, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage recently claimed that crime in the UK has surged by 50 percent since the 1990s, warning that the country faces “societal collapse” as a consequence.

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