Minister admits prisoners released early without electronic tags

Jess Phillips said she was ‘apoplectic’ government contracts for electronic tags had ‘enormous backlog’

Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips admitted early-release prisoners had been freed without tagging devices (PA Archive)

Some inmates freed under Labour’s early release scheme left prison without electronic tagging devices, the safeguarding minister has admitted.

Jess Philips, minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, admitted contracts for the tags signed in May had an “enormous backlog”.

It comes after around 1,750 prisoners were released early from jails in England and Wales earlier this month to alleviate the overcrowding crisis which is overwhelming prisons.

When asked if the inmates had been fitted with electronic tags, Ms Phillips told Sky News: “We got into office and found the prisons are about to collapse and a contract on electronic tagging signed in May had enormous backlog.

“I am, as you can imagine, as is the justice secretary and prisons minister, apoplectic at the idea contracts that we hold are slow, if anything.

There have been delays in fitting some offenders who have been released from prison with electronic tags (Danny Lawson/PA) (PA Wire)

“One thing I have ensured is that any prisoners convicted of domestic violence offences will be the priority for tagging.”

Prisons and probation minister Lord Timpson was due to have a meeting with security company Serco, which took over the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) tagging contract in May, this week.

An MoJ spokesman said on Thursday: “Tagging is an important part of our strategy to keep victims safe and cut reoffending, and there are currently record numbers of offenders wearing tags.

“We are holding Serco to account to address delays in fitting some offenders with tags, and will apply financial penalties against the company if this is not resolved quickly.”

A Serco spokesperson added: “Since we took over the electronic monitoring contract in May we have been working hard to reduce the number of people waiting to have a tag fitted.

“We work closely with the MoJ and the probation service to fit tags swiftly and prioritise cases based on risk profiles.

“Where an individual is not at home when we call to fit a tag the time taken can be longer. We prioritise making another visit so that people are tagged as soon as possible.”