Britain's prison system was on the brink of collapse on three occasions while Rishi Sunak was prime minister, according to a damning report.
Dame Ann Owers, a former chief inspector of prisons, found the criminal justice system had been 'in crisis' for more than 18 months under the Tory government.
In her review, commissioned by Labour's Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Dame Ann revealed that senior officials even feared riots if jails ran out of space.
She also disclosed that top civil servants 'were so concened' about a breakdown that they kept 'an audit' of all decision-making and documents in case of a future inquiry.
Following Labour's general election victory in July 2024, Ms Mahmood implemented a new early release scheme in order to tackle prison overcrowding.
