The British government is freeing thousands of prisoners to ease overcrowding. The new left-wing Labour government has attracted fierce criticism for its policies and positions since taking power in July, and media condemnation has increased as it plans to release potentially dangerous prisoners while simultaneously jailing anti-immigration protestors for offenses including posting controversial Facebook posts.
Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson has attempted to reassure the public with pledges that probation officers are well prepared to keep track of prisoners and will recall them to jail if they commit further offenses. She added, however, that “nobody wants to be doing this.”
Despite government insistence that violent offenders will not be released, media reports contradict this, and there is a lack of clarity surrounding the identity of the prisoners or what crimes they committed. Dame Johnson replied to domestic abuse victims concerned that their persecutor would now be free to stalk or harass them. She said there had been a “real trawl through” to ensure domestic abusers were not released, but few have taken those assurances seriously.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer blamed the previous conservative government and its failure to build jails, insisting he has been “forced” to take drastic action and open prison doors. Critics, however, reject the explanation, saying the government has managed to find prison spaces to punish anti-immigration protestors, who Starmer dismissed as “far right.”
Following the murder of three young girls at a Taylor Swift dance class in August – by the son of Rwandan immigrants – riots broke out across the country with people furious at growing violence committed by migrants and often going unpunished by politically motivated police. In the wake of the riots, Starmer ordered criminal courts to operate 24 hours a day and jailed dozens of people for minor offenses. Jordan Parlour, for instance, was sent to prison for 20 months for saying, “Every man and their dog should be smashing the f**k out of Britannia Hotel.” The hotel housed hundreds of illegal immigrants. Hotels are a growing target of frustrated protestors enraged that tax increases are funding hotel stays for people who entered the UK illegally.
