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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Donna Ferguson

We can’t lock up ‘everyone we’re cross with’, says ex-justice secretary

Alex Chalk Prison
Alex Chalk
Alex Chalk lost his parliamentary seat of Cheltenham to the Lib Dems in July’s general election. Photograph: Thomas Krych/Zuma Press Wire/Shutterstock

The former Conservative justice secretary Alex Chalk has said judges should stop locking up “everyone we’re cross with” and instead focus on keeping the criminals “we’re most scared of” behind bars.

Chalk’s remarks came after official figures published on Friday showed that the prison population had reached a record high, with 88,521 people behind bars in England and Wales.

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