Prisoners whose release has been blocked by the Parole Board will be let out of jail under Labour’s latest soft justice measures, the victims’ watchdog has warned.
Victims’ Commissioner Baroness Newlove said she was ‘genuinely struggling to understand’ why Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood is poised to free potentially-dangerous criminals.
Some of those to be released in the early stages of the scheme will have already been blocked from winning parole on ‘public protection’ grounds, the commissioner said.
Ms Mahmood announced yesterday she will introduce a standard 28-day ‘recall’ period for released prisoners who have been locked up again for breaking the rules.
Currently, freed lags can be kept behind bars for the rest of their sentence if they are caught re-offending or breaching the terms of their release ‘on licence’.
