Man freed from prison under early release scheme charged with murder

A man freed from prison under the Government’s early release scheme has been charged with murder.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was released as part of efforts to reduce prison overcrowding, according to The Times.

It is the most serious offence alleged to have been committed by someone released under the scheme, which allows some offenders to be freed after serving 40% of their sentence, rather than 50%.

The scheme applies to prisoners serving a determinate sentence, the most common form of prison sentence, but excludes those convicted of sexual offences, domestic abuse and national security-related offences such as terrorism.

Violent offenders sentenced to more than four years are also excluded.

Once released, they remain on licence for the rest of their sentence and can be recalled to prison if they breach the terms of their release or commit further offences.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Our thoughts are with the victim’s family. This Government inherited a prisons crisis, days away from running out of space which would have brought the justice system to a standstill, stopped the police from being able to make arrests and led to unchecked criminality on our streets.

“Public safety will always be our top priority, and we are building 14,000 more prison places to keep dangerous offenders locked up.”

Some 38,042 prisoners have been released under the scheme, introduced shortly after Labour came to power last year.

Officials had warned that male prisons were on track to completely run out of space prior to the policy being introduced by the now-Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.

Figures released on Thursday showed the overall prison population had fallen from its February 2024 peak of 88,439, reaching 87,465 in September 2025.

But this was still higher than the total prison population in September 2024.

Recalls to prison have also increased, reaching 11,041 between April and June 2025, a 13% increase on the same period in 2024.

Recalls are at a “historically high” level, the Ministry of Justice said, and the rise is “likely to be associated” with the Government’s early release scheme that began in September 2024.

It also attributed the rise to a change in the law to recall under the Conservative government in April 2024, where offenders sentenced to less than 12 months will serve a short fixed term when recalled, instead of serving the rest of their full jail term.