Inmates given early release in bid to ease overcrowding

There were jubilant scenes outside prison gates yesterday as hundreds of inmates were freed early in a desperate bid to stop jails from becoming completely full.

- ANDY GREGORY

Some of the 1,700 prisoners due to be released 40 per cent of the way into their sentence yesterday were filmed being sprayed with sparkling wine as they tasted freedom either days, weeks or months early, as jubilant crowds gathered outside Wandsworth Prison.

Music could be heard playing at the gates of the south London jail in one clip, as people were seen joyfully reuniting with friends and loved ones.

Asked whether he felt rehabilitated, one 59-year-old departing inmate convicted of violent crime and named only as “Mr T” told reporters: “Certainly not. There is no rehabilitation. No one talks to you, you just go in, lie down and 17 months later I’m out ... I’m not looking to re-offend, but, you never know. You can never say no.”

Another said: “This is not a bonus for me, to be released like this, not knowing what’s going on, only having housing for three months.”