A new emergency scheme designed to free up prison space has led to the accidental early release of dozens of prisoners. The Mirror was informed by Ministry of Justice sources that 37 inmates, jailed for breaching restraining orders, were erroneously released due to their offences being recorded under outdated legislation.

Five of these prisoners have yet to be returned to jail, while the rest have been re-incarcerated.

All victims identified have been notified following the incorrect inmate release. Those imprisoned for violating a restraining order were among those excluded from the government’s early release plan, with the offence listed in the exclusions under the Sentencing Act 2020.

However, it has come to light that some individuals who breached a restraining order were charged and sentenced under the obsolete Protection for Harassment Act 1997, which was later superseded by the Sentencing Act. This resulted in prison records citing the wrong offence, hence they were not flagged when people were excluded from the early release scheme.

The MoJ has confirmed that all further planned releases of offenders affected by this issue have been halted, and guidance has been issued to staff to ensure future releases are accurate. The department is not aware of this issue affecting other offences, reports the Mirror.

Following Labour’s ascent to power, Shabana Mahmood announced a radical policy that would see prisoners released after serving just 40% of their sentences, down from the current halfway mark, lamenting it as an “emergency measure” needed “to avert a disaster”. She slammed the Tory Government for allowing prisons in England and Wales to reach breaking point with overcrowding issues.

The Labour minister cautioned that without immediate action, the prisons could overflow, potentially leaving police powerless to make arrests and leading to widespread chaos with “looters running amok, smashing in windows, robbing shops and setting neighbourhoods alight”.

However, this emergency early release scheme won’t apply to everyone. Those serving time for grave violence or sexual crimes, specifically if their sentences exceed four years, are ruled out, along with domestic abuse offenders who’ve violated restraining orders.

Countering Labour’s stance, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson emphasized the commitment to public safety, stating: “Public safety is our first priority. That is why we took decisive action to fix the broken prison system we inherited and keep the most dangerous offenders locked up. This included blocking the early release of domestic abuse offences such as stalking and controlling behaviour.”

“We are working with the police to urgently return a very small number of offenders – who were charged incorrectly and sentenced under repealed legislation – to custody. The convictions remain valid with offenders monitored since their release and will soon be back behind bars.”