'Overcrowded' and 'set up to fail': Freed prisoners react to early release scheme

As hundreds of prisoners across England and Wales are released early under a new scheme designed to free up prison space, some of those freed have told the BBC of the "hectic" conditions they are leaving behind - and their concerns about a lack of support waiting for them outside.

Around 700 offenders are expected to be freed with the first wave on Thursday, as prisoners serving sentences of up to 19 months become eligible for release after a third of their term.

The government has stressed they will remain subject to strict monitoring arrangements, including the expanded use of electronic tagging, and has said action was needed to prevent prisons from becoming full.

But some victims have questioned how they will be protected, while a probation worker told the BBC that managing the influx of offenders may be "just too much".

Outside Wandsworth Prison in London, former bus driver Michael Bogle was adamant he would not return to the Victorian-era facility - describing the conditions as "awful".

He served 78 days for shoplifting soap detergent, and had initially been given a suspended 32-week sentence but had breached it.

Bogle told reporters offenders were locked up for 23 hours a day. He said he knew of one prisoner who had recently taken his own life.

The early release scheme should continue, he said: "It's good. Tagging is better than prison".

Another man released from Wandsworth on Thursday - who declined to be named and said he had been sentenced for "taking things without paying for them" - said the prison was "so crowded even the rats are complaining".

Some prisoners were surprised by their release. Benjamin Stewart, 46, said he was only told he was being let out of HMP Birmingham after a knock on his cell door on Thursday morning.

"I didn't have a clue I was getting out," he told the BBC.

Matthew Johnson, 35 also spoke of poor conditions as he expressed relief to be leaving Leeds Prison.

He said he had been released after six months from an 18 month sentence for actual bodily harm.

Asked what he would say to opponents of early release, he said: "You want to see what's inside these rooms, then you'll know.

"It's hectic. It's crowded. It's overcrowded – cells for one person with two people in them."

He added: "Staff are overwhelmed anyway with what they've got to cope with at the minute".

Jake Sykes, 33, similarly spoke of "disgusting" conditions as he left Lincoln Prison, after being sentenced to 16 weeks in prison for shoplifting.

He will be tagged, banned from going to the pub and have a curfew.

Sykes said overcrowding inside was "bad", with prisoners sharing cells, adding: "It's full of cockroaches, rats. It's disgusting in there, filthy."

But he said the justice system's biggest problem was the lack of support for offenders after they leave prison.

"The support is there whilst you're there, so you're secure, you feel safe there," he said.

"And then when you get out, there's nothing."

Back in London, a man who gave his name only as David as he left HMP Brixton said he did not believe the scheme could work, because of a lack of support for inmates on the outside.

He feared the justice system was "setting us up to fail".

"Stop sending people to prison in the first place. Help them before they get there," he said.

"I've been in and out of prison all my life. It's help I need", he added.

The number of people expected to be released under this scheme was cut from around 6,000 after the prime minister intervened to review its terms, removing eligibility for crimes including all forms of manslaughter, grooming offences and causing or allowing the death of a child.

Early release will not apply to indeterminate sentences, which are handed out for the most serious offences like murder, and require a parole board to deem a prisoner safe to be released.

Those released early can immediately be returned to prison if they breach the terms of their licence, including by committing another crime, contacting a victim or living at an address not approved by authorities.

However, London Victims' Commissioner Andrea Simon is among those to have raised concerns about the provisions in place - warning the exemptions do not include "some offenders whose imminent release is a genuinely terrifying prospect for their victims".

Meanwhile, concerns have been voiced about the probation system's ability to manage those released. Earlier this week, the Chief Inspector of Probation Martin Jones said the electronic monitoring regime had "not kept pace" and could create "a false sense of assurance" unless failing are addressed.