Aaron Chown/PA
Alex Chalk warned Rishi Sunak that unless the government came forward with an early prisoner release scheme, similar to the one announced by Labour yesterday, they would be in a position where they’d have to “get down on their knees and pray” for the criminal justice system.
The former justice secretary regularly wrote to the then-prime minister and officials in the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and Downing Street to update them on what he termed the “pray-date,” which he claimed was no later than mid-June.
Chalk believed the overcrowding could become so problematic, that police would need to invoke Operation Brinker, effectively allowing a strict one-in-one-out policy.
There were fears, ministers said, that such a situation could lead to riots across the country’s prison estates. The meetings between Chalk and the government were uncovered during research for a new book, Taken as Red, published later this month by Anushka Asthana.
Chalk used the term “pray-date” in a meeting with Sunak two days before the election was announced on Monday, June 20.
Sources said that subsequently, Downing Street indicated to the MoJ that they were willing to bring in the SDS-40 scheme – allowing certain to be released 40 per cent through their sentences rather than 50 per cent.
The discussion came amid growing tensions between the MoJ and Downing Street over prison overcrowding. Chalk had been warning for several months that the system was approaching a breaking point and only managed by using short-term measures, such as an End of Custody Supervised Licence (ESCL), to ease the pressure. ESCL did not require legislation but allowed some prisoners to be released 18 days earlier.
Labour’s justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, officially revealed this temporary move which has already seen offenders being released. By October, 5,500 people are expected to be freed, although this scheme doesn’t apply to those convicted of sex offences, terrorism, domestic abuse or some violent offences.
The prison population in England and Wales hit a record high last Friday, with more than 88,500 people behind bars.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “This government will always make sure we have the prison places we need, and we have taken decisive action to see criminals who break the law swiftly brought to justice.”
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