75,000 criminals released early from prison

The man was allowed to go free despite being due for deportation at the end of his sentence.

Thousands of criminals are let out early every month to stop prisons in England and Wales overflowing, but foreign nationals serving sentences of over a year are not eligible and should be kept in jail until they are sent home.

However, on the first day of the scheme's operation, June 29, 2007, a Ghanaian man jailed for theft was mistakenly let out of Chelmsford prison in Essex.

He was at large for nearly two weeks before being returned to custody on July 10. The man, who has not been named, was eventually deported five months later in December that year.

Details of the accidental release were not made public at the time but were uncovered after a request made under the Freedom of Information Act.

Since the start of the End of Custody Licence (ECL) scheme, 75,000 prisoners have been released up to 18 days before the halfway point of their sentence.

Figures released by the Ministry of Justice today showed that 74,699 were let out early up to the end of November last year.

That total includes 14,881 violent offenders – although criminals who have committed serious violent crimes are excluded.

Of those, 1,500 have had to be recalled to prison, mostly for committing further crimes. Two hundred early release criminals instructed to return are still at large.

Criminals let out on ECL are entitled to a payment of 46, then a subsistence allowance of 47.12 a week up to a maximum of 168. They can also have their rent paid.

This week, a report by MPs said the prison population should be cut by a third with thousands of criminals given community punishments in an effort to stop them reoffending.

Courts should regard sending offenders to jail as a last resort, the cross party Justice Committee said, as the MPs called for a radical shift in penal policy.

Government prison building plans will cost 4.24bn and are a "costly mistake", the committee said.