More than 30 prisoners have been mistakenly released from prisons in the UK as part of the government’s prison decongestion plan.
“Almost 40 people were let out of prison by mistake under Labour’s controversial early release scheme, the Ministry of Justice has admitted,” writes GBNews.com.
A source said that 37 criminals were released erroneously on September 10 because their offenses had been recorded incorrectly under now-repealed legislation.
Five prisoners have not yet been returned to prison, but the majority have been returned or re-arrested and brought into custody.
Around 1,700 prisoners were released from prisons across England and Wales on September 10 in a bid to ease prison overcrowding, with almost as many also due to be released in October.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmoud announced plans in July to temporarily reduce the number of sentences prisoners must serve in prisons from 50 to 40 percent.
It came as the Ministry of Justice announced that prisons were pushed to “breaking point” due to overcrowding.
