Labour will not disclose prisoner release figures for new early release scheme
Labour's Ministry of Justice is refusing to publish figures on how many prisoners are released under its new early release scheme, sparking accusations of a cover-up. The controversial programme, launched on 1 October, is expected to free up to 50,000 prisoners annually, but unlike previous early release initiatives, the numbers will be hidden within broader statistics rather than separately disclosed. Opposition politicians argue this concealment prevents public and parliamentary scrutiny of the scheme's scale and impact.
The scheme has already freed approximately 700 prisoners since its launch, with prisoners serving sentences up to 19 months initially eligible. Eligibility is expanding monthly to include those with longer sentences, eventually reaching those with 12-year terms. Early reports suggest some released prisoners are reoffending rapidly: Greater Manchester Police reported eight arrests within days of release, and one prolific offender committed crimes within hours. The government has not published data on how many released prisoners have committed new offences since the scheme began.
- Labour hides early release numbers from public in new scheme
- Scheme to free 50,000 prisoners yearly from October onwards
- Some released prisoners already reoffending within days
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The Labour government has introduced an early release scheme to reduce overcrowding in prisons. The scheme will release prisoners early, but the government will not publish separate figures on how many prisoners are freed, choosing instead to include the numbers in broader statistics. Critics argue this lack of transparency prevents the public and Parliament from properly scrutinising the scheme.
Prisoners serving sentences of up to 19 months are eligible for early release under the scheme, which launched in early October, with eligibility set to expand over time to include those with longer sentences. Previous early release programmes have published their figures separately, giving clear sight of how many people were released and when.
Early reports suggest some released prisoners have reoffended quickly, with arrests recorded within days or hours of leaving prison. The government has not disclosed figures on how many freed prisoners have committed new offences since the scheme's launch.
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The case for
Early release schemes are a necessary response to severe prison overcrowding and operational necessity. Publishing separate figures for each release cohort would create sensationalised media coverage that undermines rehabilitation efforts and public understanding of why such policies exist. The data remains available within broader criminal justice statistics, permitting proper analytical scrutiny over appropriate timeframes rather than reactive, headline-driven pressure. Prisoner reoffending patterns must be assessed across years to establish genuine systemic trends, not through anecdotal incidents from the first days of implementation.
The case against
A scheme releasing up to 50,000 prisoners annually represents major public policy directly affecting public safety, and citizens and elected representatives deserve transparent information about its scale and immediate consequences. Aggregating figures into broader statistics effectively prevents parliamentary oversight and public accountability. The government's refusal to publish reoffending data alongside release figures appears deliberately evasive and damages democratic trust, particularly given early reports of rapid reoffending. Other democracies publish such figures without operational difficulty, suggesting transparency is both feasible and essential.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Labour’s soft justice ‘cover-up’: Number of criminals handed early release from jail will be kept hidden from the public”.