Criminals will be hauled back to jail for just a few weeks if they breach the terms of their release under Labour's latest 'pitiful' soft-justice measures.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood is introducing a standard 28-day 'recall' period for released prisoners who are locked up again for breaking the rules – even those who commit new offences.
Currently, freed lags can be kept behind bars for the rest of their sentence if they are recalled.
The new policy will free up 1,400 spaces in prisons amid the overcrowding crisis. Officials said if no action was taken, they would run out of space by November.
But Ms Mahmood was accused of presiding over a 'recipe for the breakdown of law and order', while victims' groups voiced alarm at the move.
