UK: Mass release of prisoners to make room in jails for anti-government protesters
Authorities detailed that at least 1,750 prisoners began to be released early on Tuesday.
Keir Starmer, prime minister of the United Kingdom.
The U.K. government is continuing to take steps to manage the latest major wave of arrests in the country stemming from the crackdown on demonstrations that erupted in various parts of the country following the deaths of three girls in a knife attack.
Authorities detailed that at least 1,750 prisoners began to be released early Tuesday. As AFP explained, prisoners eligible for early release under judicial supervision can leave prison when they have served 40% of their sentence, instead of 50% as before.
Keir Starmer's Labour government's persecution of the opposition has worsened the situation in prisons. There have so far been more than 200 people sentenced to prison terms.
However, British Trade Minister Jonathan Reynolds blamed the previous government for the situation, in statements picked up by AFP:
"Of all the scandals we inherited (from the previous Conservative government), the state of the prison and judicial system is probably the worst of all and it's a tough call," Reynolds said.
At the beginning of September, the prison population in England and Wales stood at 88,521, an all-time high. Six prisons are currently under construction, which would create an additional 20,000 places.
But jail is not the only measure the Labor government has taken to silence the demonstrations. The prime minister also promised that his government is working on a "wider rollout of facial recognition surveillance."
Starmer justified the move on the grounds that at some protests in Southport over the murder of the underage girls, vandalism was reported. He also said he will take steps to protect the Muslim community.
"These thugs are mobile, they move from community to community. We must have a policing response that can do the same. Shared intelligence, wider deployment of facial recognition technology and preventive action, criminal behaviour orders to restrict their movements, before they can even board a train," Starmer said during a press conference.
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