Prisons minister James Timpson thinks 'only a third of prisoners should be behind bars', as Starmer defends appointment
6 July 2024, 14:31
Keir Starmer has defended the appointment of new unelected prisons minister James Timpson, who said that only a third of prisoners should definitely be in custody.
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Asked by LBC's political correspondent Aggie Chambre if he agreed with the reforming position of his new prisons minister, Sir Keir said that Mr Timpson "hasn't just talked the talk" but "has actually walked the walk".
Mr Timpson has worked in prison reform for years alongside his position running key-cutting giant Timpson Group, and advocates for the employment of ex-convicts.
Sir Keir said in a press conference on Saturday that "the prisons minister has huge experience here and has invested a huge amount over many years in relation to prisons.
"And that's why I wanted to make that appointment. We do need to be clear about the way in which we use prisons, we need to get away from the fact that for so many people come out of prison, they're back in prison relatively quickly afterwards.
LBC's Aggie Chambre on the appointment of James Timpson as prisons minister
"That is a massive problem that we have in this country, that we do need to break and that's why I'm very pleased to put James into post - someone who hasn't just talked the talk, has actually walked the walk for many years in this respect".
Mr Timpson said in a TV interview earlier this year that "the UK is addicted to sentencing and punishment."
He said: "A lot of people in prison in my view shouldn’t be there, and they are there for far too long. It’s getting worse. There are people serving sentences for longer than they have been alive. Holland has shut half of their prisons. They have a different way of sentencing, it’s community sentencing.
"They continue in society, and it makes them less likely to re-offend. Custodial sentences aren’t always the right way.”
He added: "We have 85,000 people in prison as it stands. Only a third of them should definitely be there. The next third primarily require mental health support. The other third, largely women, prison is an absolutely disaster for them."
Sir Keir also said that it was "impossible" to say the government would stop the early release of prisoners.
He told reporters: "We've got too many prisoners, not enough prisons.
"That's a monumental failure of the last government on any basic view of government to get to a situation where you haven't got enough prison places for prisoners, doesn't matter what your political stripe, that is a failure of government.
"It's a failure of government to instruct the police not to arrest. This has not had enough attention, in my view, but it's what happened.
"We will fix that, but we can't fix it overnight and therefore it is impossible to simply say we will stop the early release of prisoners and you wouldn't believe me if I did say it."
Mr Timpson did not stand as an MP in the General Election, and so will be appointed to the House of Lords so that he can serve in the Cabinet.
He has previously spoken at the Conservative party conference. Mr Timpson's brother Edward Timpson was a Conservative minister and served in several government positions, including briefly as Solicitor-General in 2022. He stepped down at the 2024 election.
Patrick Vallance, the former chief science officer during the Covid-19 pandemic, will serve as science minister under Sir Keir and will also be appointed to the House of Lords.
