Thousands Of Prisoners To Be Released Early To Ease Crowding In UK Jails

The release initiative would not apply to violent offenders serving more than four years, sex offenders, and those in prison for domestic abuse offences as well as those on life sentences.

Thousands of prisoners are to be released early starting September to prevent the "collapse" of the prison system, the UK's new justice minister announced on Friday.

Shabana Mahmood said failure to do so risked the "total breakdown of law and order", with just 700 places left for men, and jails operating at 99 percent capacity since 2023.

England and Wales have the highest per capita prison population in Western Europe.