Fury as homeless inmates released from prison early are set to be housed in taxpayer-funded hotels
11 September 2024, 09:06
The Justice Secretary has sparked outrage after confirming that homeless inmates released from prison early are set to be housed in taxpayer-funded hotels.
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Shabana Mahmood revealed in the Commons on Tuesday that inmates at risk of being homeless after their early release could be housed in taxpayer-funded hotels - once space has run out in community accommodation.
She said she had given probation directors the freedom to make "alternative arrangements".
It comes after Jackie Creighton, 54, who was released from HMP Wandsworth, told LBC he would have "rather just stayed in" as he would be sleeping on a park bench on his first night of freedom.
Some 1,700 prisoners in England and Wales have been let out early, on top of the 1,000 prisoners normally released each week.
A further 5,000 inmates are set to be released over the next six weeks.
Read more: Break out the bubbly: Inmates freed to 'party' outside jails under Labour's early release scheme
Newly-released prisoner says he'll be sleeping on a bench now
Ms Mahmood told MPs: "If an offender is at risk of homelessness upon release, they will be housed in community accommodation.
"We expect to provide housing for the majority of offenders using existing provision.
"But should there not be enough provision, I have authorised probation directors to make use of alternative arrangements, including budget hotels as a temporary measure for the cases that we will see in the next few weeks."
Speaking to LBC immediately as he came out of prison, Mr Creighton said the early release scheme felt rushed and that he was worried that the probation service would not have had time to make any arrangements for him.
"I'd rather have just sat there," he said. "It would maybe give probation, whoever, more time to sort stuff out. So I'm not really holding it against probation".
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The move has sparked fury online, with one person saying: "So you've let them all out with nowhere to go and I believe they are being put up in hotels at taxpayers expense? UNBELIEVABLE! Freeze the elderly and probably get them killed by reoffending prisoners who ironically will be cosy and warm. This government is shameful."
Another person said: "So the government are putting released prisoners up in hotels at the taxpayers expense. Now we know where the winter fuel allowance money is going."
A third person added: "Now the Secretary of State for Justice tells the House of Commons that some early release prisoners could be given hotel rooms at taxpayer’s expense. We are living beyond peak farce."
Downing Street said the policy had to be brought in to avoid "unchecked criminality" where the police and courts are unable to lock anyone up because there are no free cells.
MoJ figures showed the prison population hit a record high of 88,521 on Friday, having risen by more than 1,000 inmates over the past four weeks.
