The Prime Minister has defended releasing prisoners early and blamed the Tory government over their failure of inaction.
Sir Keir Starmer hit out at Rishi Sunak in the House of Commons during Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) on Wednesday.
Starmer said that he had no choice but to commit to cutting the amount time prisoners will serve in UK jails amid the overcrowding crisis.
This comes as the Reform UK leader Nigel Farage blasted Labour’s move for throwing those in jail who wrote “unpleasant things on Facebook.”
Farage said there was “some extraordinary celebratory scenes outside Britain’s prisons, where in some cases serious career criminals were released” and bottles of bubbly was being sprayed in celebration as they left prison.
On Tuesday some 1,700 prisoners were released across Wales and England which saw inmates being released after 40% of the time served instead of 50% to prevent the “point of collapse.”
Farage told MPs, “This to make way for, yes, rioters, but equally those who have said unpleasant things on Facebook and elsewhere on social media.
“Does the Prime Minister understand there is a growing feeling of anger in this country that we are living through two-tier policing and a two-tier justice system?”
Starmer hit back, saying, “I’m angry to be put in a position of having to release people who should be in prison because the last government broke the prison system.
“The Prime Minister was repeatedly warned that he had to adopt the scheme that we put in place.”
Charlie Taylor of the prisons watchdog warned that Labour’s decision to release prisoners early is “risky” and it is “inevitable” that some will commit offences and be returned back to jail.
The Tory leader was previously warned by police chief that prior to the general election Sunak “needed to take action” to tackle overcrowding in the prison system.
The Labour leader said, “This is how bad it was. He [Sunak] delayed and increased the risks.”
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