1,700 prisoners to be released early from today as several more Rotherham rioters face jail time

The hundreds of offenders across England and Wales are set to be released after serving 40 per cent of their sentence - instead of the normal 50 per cent - as the Government attempts to free up 5,500 spaces across its prison estate.

It comes as official figures released last week showed the prison population reached 88,521 - the highest ever level since the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) began publishing weekly figures in 2011; and the chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor said the Government ‘had no choice but to do something’ about overcrowding.

He explained that in his view ‘the bath was in danger of overflowing, and they either had to turn the taps off or they had to let some water out’.

Mr Taylor made those comments as his annual report was released, which said the number of prisoners is projected to grow by about 27,000 by 2028, meaning it is unlikely to be possible to build enough new accommodation. In addition, the number of people charged, and convicted, in connection with the Rotherham riots on August 4 continues to rise, with the most recently-released South Yorkshire Police figures showing that a total of 53 defendants have pleaded guilty to related offences including violent disorder - 19 of whom are yet to be sentenced.

The vast majority of adults sentenced in connection with the disorder have received immediate custodial sentences.

It broke out after scores of anti-immigration protesters battled with police outside The Holiday Inn Express hotel in Manvers, Rotherham, which then housed asylum seekers. 60 police officers are estimated to have been injured during the course of the incident, along with three police dogs and a police horse.

Statements submitted to Sheffield Crown Court have revealed how 22 staff members present at the time of the disorder feared they would die, and felt it necessary to barricade themselves inside a kitchen.

Defendants involved in the other summer riots, which took place in a number of locations across the country after misinformation was disseminated in the wake of a fatal stabbing in Southport that claimed the lives of three young girls, have also been coming through the court system at an acclerated rate.

The figures released by the MoJ last week also showed that the prison population had risen by 1,000 in the last four weeks alone.

Their monthly release of prison population figures broken down by individual jails was most recently released on August 9, 2024, covering the period up to July 26, 2024.

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On that date, HMP Doncaster - Yorkshire’s largest prison and the closest to Sheffield Crown Court - had just eight available places; and that was before the Rotherham riots took place.

Commenting on the early-release scheme, Andrea Coomber KC, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said prisons and probation needed to be completely reset after she described the ‘woeful education and training’ for inmates and squalor, self-harm, drugs, violence and unmet mental health needs, all in the midst of severe overcrowding.

Meanwhile, the Prison Reform Trust said prisoners are being ‘warehoused’ and need to be spending time in education, training and work rather than ‘sharing an overcrowded cell for 23 hours a day’.

Pia Sinha , chief executive of the charity, said: "We cannot continue to warehouse people in these conditions and expect that things will be better when they're released."

Yesterday, it was revealed that some victims have been left unaware of the early release of the person responsible for committing a crime against them.

Victims' Commissioner Baroness Newlove branded this ‘regrettable’ and said she had called for assurances this would not happen.

She said the early releases are ‘distressing for many victims who rightfully expect offenders will serve the sentence handed down by the court’.

The Government has said the early release scheme will not apply to those convicted of sex offences, terrorism, domestic abuse or some violent offences.