Mahmood open to ‘further emergency measures’ to respond to prisons ‘crisis’
The Justice Secretary’s remarks came as MPs supported legislation designed to allow thousands of prisoners to be released earlier than planned.
Further emergency measures could be introduced to respond to the prison capacity “crisis”, the Justice Secretary said as MPs approved moves to release thousands of prisoners early.
Shabana Mahmood told MPs that the prison population remains “within a few hundred places of collapse” and the Government will continue to monitor it closely in the coming weeks.
Ms Mahmood said Operation Safeguard, in which police cells are used to house offenders, and Operation Early Dawn, which seeks to manage the flow of prisoners from police cells to the courts, are among the options available to her if required.
Her remarks came as the House of Commons backed legislation to reduce the amount of time prisoners must spend in jail before they are automatically released, from 50% of their sentence to 40%.
The move – which does not apply to those convicted of sex offences, terrorism, domestic abuse or some violent offences – is expected to result in 5,500 offenders being released in September and October.
They will serve the rest of their sentence under “strict” licensing conditions in the community, MPs heard.
For the Opposition, shadow crime minister Matt Vickers raised concerns over the lack of a cut-off date for the legislation and labelled it a “blank cheque”.
Speaking in the Commons, Ms Mahmood said: “The crisis in our prisons is not over. The prison population remains within a few hundred places of collapse. Last week we temporarily closed HMP Dartmoor, taking around 200 places out of the prison estate.
“While we’re able to withstand that loss of capacity, any further changes – be that a further loss of supply or an unexpected increase in demand – could tip us into crisis. The measures I have set out will take effect in September, giving probation officers the precious time they need to prepare.
“During this time we will continue to monitor the prison population closely and we will be ready to introduce further emergency measures, like Operation Early Dawn or Operation Safeguard, if required.
“We are not yet out of the woods.”
Ms Mahmood earlier said the legislation was not introducing a permanent change on early release.
She said: “We will review this measure within 18 months of implementation, at the very latest in March 2026.
“At this point we believe the situation in our prisons will have stabilised and we will be able to reverse this measure, returning to the automatic point of release to 50% of a sentence.”
She added: “Given the scale of the crisis we have inherited, placing an artificial time limit on this measure would be nothing more than an irresponsible gimmick. We have taken the very deliberate decision not to reverse this measure until we are certain that prison capacity has stabilised.”
Ms Mahmood also accused the previous Conservative government of running the prison estate to “within days of disaster”, saying: “They even came close to triggering Operation Brinker, which is effectively a one in, one out measure into our prisons and it is the very last desperate act available to forestall by a matter of days the total collapse of law and order in this country.”
Conservative frontbencher Mr Vickers said he recognised the “challenges and significant pressure” facing prisons and the criminal justice system, but defended his party’s response when in government.
He added: “Why does this statutory instrument not contain a sunset clause? I realise she touched on this, but surely given the significance of these powers it’s reasonable to sunset such a measure, with the Lord Chancellor always able to return to the House subsequently to seek the House’s agreement to renew if needed rather than giving her a blank cheque.”
Conservative former minister Sir John Hayes questioned the Government about the idea of pop-up prisons, similar to temporary NHS hospitals introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said: “Now, I accept that the previous government should have done more, but this Government should look at urgent prison building.
“We were able to build Nightingale hospitals at a stroke. Why can’t we have Fry prisons built as a temporary measure at least in order to accommodate many of the people who will otherwise commit further crimes?”
For the Liberal Democrats, Wendy Chamberlain said the party recognised the legislation was “probably the only step” that the Government can take to respond to the situation.
