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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
National
Anahita Hossein-Pour

Nearly 40,000 prisoners released early to tackle jail overcrowding, figures show

The prisoner early release scheme was launched as an emergency measure last September (Anthony Devlin/PA) - (PA Archive)

Nearly 40,000 prisoners in England and Wales have been let out of jail under the Government’s early release scheme to tackle overcrowding in prisons, figures show.

Some 38,042 inmates had been freed as of the end of June this year, according to the Ministry of Justice.

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