Change prison recall system to tackle overcrowding crisis, charity says

Some 5,000 prisoners are due to be freed after serving less than half of their sentence this autumn, down from 6,000 after Prime Minister Andy Burnham blocked the early release of rapists and child sex offenders.

But following an outcry from police leaders and the public that two of the killers of PC Andrew Harper would still qualify for early release, the Government is attempting to create a plan for further exemptions.

Mr Burnham said on August 11 he was “increasingly confident” that the release of PC Harper’s killers could be prevented.

However, the 5,000 prisoners being released early this autumn is dwarfed by the 9,900 that were recalled despite facing no charges.

This was for breaching their licence over relatively trivial reasons such as posting on Facebook or missing probation appointments.

Nacro said that many others were recalled for missing curfews due to being homeless.

This meant that out of every 10 prisoner releases there are nine recalls, that are not a criminal convicted of a new offence.

Nacro says that the Government should “use its sentencing and recall reforms to ensure people leaving prison receive the support they need to succeed in the community, with recall used as a last resort”.

This comes after Andy Burnham said he would investigate hundreds of empty cells at Britain’s newest “super prison”, near York, after being alerted to the vacancies by The Yorkshire Post.

There are almost 350 empty spaces at HMP Millsike, in the East Riding, which opened in March 2025.

Multiple sources have said it is struggling to recruit enough staff, which is causing delays in ramping up to full capacity.

Private contractor Mitie, which is operating a prison for the first time, said it “continues to operate in line with the ramp-up plans agreed with the Ministry of Justice, with staffing and recruitment aligned to the prison’s phased population build-up”.

Mr Burnham spoke to The Yorkshire Post last week during a visit to Bradford. When asked if the Government was aware of the empty spaces at HMP Millsike and if efforts are being made to speed up filling them to tackle the national overcrowding issue, the Prime Minister said: “I’m looking at every single possible way of opening up prison spaces.

"The issues you have raised were being looked at [and] will certainly be looked at even more to make sure every available prison space is being used. We appreciate that issue coming to the fore. We are looking at every single aspect of this and will make a full statement to Parliament.”

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Less than one in seven offenders in custody are on recall, and it is a vital tool to keep the public safe. The numbers of recalls and first-time releases also can’t be compared as the same prisoner can be counted more than once.

“This government inherited prisons in crisis but we are fixing this, reforming the length of time people spend on recall to reduce the prison population, building 14,000 new places, launching the biggest ever expansion of tagging, and giving victims a say in the strict licence conditions of offenders.”