Under the Government's new Sentencing Act, some 6,000 criminals are due to be freed under the early prison release scheme in a bid to combat jail overcrowding.

Under the Government's new Sentencing Act, some 6,000 criminals are due to be freed under the early prison release scheme in a bid to combat jail overcrowding.

Justice secretary says ministers would have liked to block more but doing so would cause prison system to ‘break’