37 PRISONERS ARE FREED BY MISTAKE

Early release scheme blunder with five criminals at large

- SOPHIE HUSKISSON

DOZENS of prisoners were released early by mistake under the new scheme to free up space.

Sources at the Ministry of Justice told the Mirror that 37 criminals who were jailed for breaching restraining orders have been wrongly let out after their offences were logged under outdated legislation.

And five of them have not yet been returned to jail, with police working urgently to bring them back into custody.

All identified victims have been contacted after the incorrect release of inmates.

Offenders who had been jailed for breaching a restraining order were excluded from the government's early release plan.