The UK government is facing mounting pressure over a worsening prison crisis, with the culture secretary admitting that mistaken prisoner releases have increased since Labour took office.
'Completely Unacceptable' Situation
Speaking to Sky News this morning, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy confirmed that four wrongly released prisoners remain at large and described the situation as "completely unacceptable." She revealed that England and Wales are now seeing an average of 22 wrongful releases each month, up from an average of 17 during much of the previous administration.
"What I can tell you is that under the last government, for quite some time, there were, on average, 17 wrong releases," Nandy told presenter Trevor Phillips. "Under this government that has risen. It's 22 - that is completely unacceptable. It was unacceptable before, it's unacceptable now."
Broken System Inherited by Labour
The minister attributed part of the problem to what she called an "antiquated" paper-based system within the Prison Service that dates back to the 1980s. She emphasized that Labour inherited a broken prison system that was nearly full to capacity when Sir Keir Starmer won the general election last year.
Nandy stated that Justice Secretary David Lammy is addressing the crisis by appointing Dame Lynne Owens, the former director of the National Crime Agency, to lead reforms. The government's approach includes modernizing the outdated paper system, building new prisons, and implementing additional checks to prevent future mistaken releases.
Calls for Systemic Overhaul
The Prison Officers' Association has responded by demanding an "entire overhaul" of the sentencing calculation and discharge process. The union has specifically warned Justice Secretary Lammy against blaming individual officers for what they characterize as systemic failures within the prison system.
Concerns about prison conditions have been repeatedly raised by inspectors, particularly at HMP Wandsworth, where overcrowding and poor security have been highlighted as ongoing issues. The government now faces the challenge of addressing both immediate security failures and long-term structural problems within the UK's prison estate.
