Prison system was days from collapse three times under Sunak, review finds

After the general election was called in 2024, Sunak called Cobra meetings to discuss emergency powers to free prisoners early if the criminal justice system collapsed. Photograph: Antonio Olmos/The Observer

The criminal justice system was within days of collapse on three occasions before being bailed out by “last-minute emergency measures”, an independent review by a former prisons watchdog has found.

Dame Anne Owers said the prison system, under pressure from overcrowding, was “in crisis” between autumn 2023 and the summer of 2024, but No 10 under Rishi Sunak refused to cut the numbers in jail until “the next predictable cliff edge”.