Labour says it will deliver prison places needed to ensure criminals are behind bars

Shadow justice secretary Steve Reed accused the Conservatives of failing to build the cells they promised.

Shadow justice secretary Steve Reed criticised the Government’s record on prison places (Peter Byrne/PA) (PA Archive)

A Labour government would deliver the prison places needed to ensure “dangerous criminals” are behind bars, the shadow justice secretary has said.

Steve Reed accused the Conservatives of failing to build the cells they promised, meaning “our prisons are turning criminals away”.

According to the Government’s own projections, the Labour Party said, the growth of the prison population is set to outpace the supply of prison places.

By this November, the Ministry of Justice projects the number of prisoners will hit 89,100, but there will be only 87,573 operational prison places – leaving a shortage of 1,527 places.

Appearing before the Commons Justice Committee last month, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk acknowledged prison places were under “intense pressure” but insisted there would be enough spaces within the prison system to “keep the British people safe”.

Mr Reed said: “Our prisons are turning criminals away because the Conservatives failed to build the cells they promised.

“The situation has become so chaotic that the Conservative Government has instructed judges not to lock up dangerous criminals, leaving them to roam the streets and seek out new victims.

“To make matters worse, criminals who do end up in jail have been allowed to run riot with violence and drug abuse spiralling out of control, driving up reoffending rates.

“Labour is the party of law and order.

“In Government it will get on and deliver the prison places we need to ensure that dangerous criminals are where they belong – behind bars. That’s how we will prevent crime, punish criminals and protect communities.”

Commenting on Mr Reed’s comments, justice minister Damian Hinds said: “Labour’s record proves they are soft on crime and soft on criminals – Keir Starmer has consistently whipped his MPs to vote against stronger sentences for violent and sexual offenders.

“The last time Labour were in power they released 80,000 prisoners early, including terrorists.

“Meanwhile, we have cut the reoffending rate to lower than when Labour left office, increased the conviction rate by 15%, introduced tougher sentences for the worst offenders, and are building more new prison places than under any Labour government.”