Government Accused of 'Cover-Up' Over Secret Early Prison Release Figures

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is facing accusations of a cover-up for concealing the number of criminals being released early from prison under a new controversial scheme. Officials have confirmed that figures detailing how many prisoners benefit from reduced sentences will not be published separately, instead being merged into existing statistics, making them impossible to isolate.

This move has led to criticism from opposition parties and justice reform advocates, who argue it leaves the public and lawmakers in the dark about the full scope of the government's early release policy. The scheme, which began at the start of October, is projected to free up to 50,000 prisoners annually. This initiative represents a significant expansion of a previous early release program that has already seen over 70,000 offenders freed.

The new measures allow prisoners serving up to 19 months to be eligible for early release. This will be expanded to include those with sentences up to 29 months, and progressively longer sentences will become eligible each month, culminating in early June with those serving sentences of 12 years or more. Prisoners serving life sentences, extended sentences, or certain violent and sexual offenses are excluded.

Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy stated, "This looks like a cover-up by Labour to hide the true scale of their latest disastrous early release scheme. They must come clean and explain why they refuse to publish this data." He added concerns that "thousands of dangerous criminals are being freed from prison early by Labour, with some immediately beginning crime sprees and others even going on to kill."

Concerns about reoffending have been highlighted by recent cases. Michael Bogle, 38, a registered sex offender, was released on the first day of the scheme and reportedly committed 11 shoplifting offenses within five days, leading to his re-jailling. Greater Manchester Police reported that eight men were arrested within days of their early release for offenses including robbery, domestic violence, and drugs.

David Spencer, head of crime and justice at the think-tank Policy Exchange, commented, "The Government must be willing to provide detailed information on prisoners released under Andy Burnham's early release schemes. The public deserve to know how many criminals are being released, what their offending history is and what crimes they go on to commit on release." He suggested that the lack of transparency "smacks of a cover-up happening in plain sight."

The MoJ defended the policy, stating, "We inherited a prison system on the brink of collapse. If we had failed to act the police would have been forced to halt arrests, putting communities at untold risk. Our changes are part of a long-term overhaul of sentencing, ending the crisis in our prisons and keeping dangerous offenders behind bars."

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has announced plans to build 50,000 new jail places if her party wins the next General Election, aiming to end early release policies and increase prison capacity by over 50 percent.