Inmates given their freedom under Sir Keir Starmer’s early release scheme have been welcomed like heroes on their departure from prison today.
Former prisoners were sprayed with champagne by jubilant loved ones, with those released boasting about going to the pub and McDonald’s to celebrate, while others crowed it was a ‘great escape’.
While some have vowed to do their best not to end up behind bars again, others have brazenly said that time in prison ‘doesn’t make me a changed man’ amid warnings that a third of those released will reoffend.
Despite the party atmosphere outside the prisons, with some inmates being greeted by friends blasting music from luxury cars, there was an air of discomfort from some loved ones.
The father of one inmate said he was fearful that it won’t be long before his son ends up back in prison, while the wife of another said she had seen one freshly released drug addict ‘ask for a crack pipe’ moments after getting out.
A total of 1,700 inmates will be released today, including a former Hollywood actor who brutally attacked a woman in broad daylight in the street, a thief who stole a wedding ring from his girlfriend’s grandparents and a prolific car thief.
Officials from the criminal justice system have warned that those released will commit more crimes, with one prison officer saying about half could be back behind bars soon enough after the policy was ‘rushed through’.
Stuart Bennett dances in the street after being released from HMP Leeds earlier today
Tareen Shakil hugs his mother as he leaves prison in Birmingham six weeks early after serving half of a four year sentence for drug related offences
Ben Savage, who was released from HMP Thameside this morning, said he was delighted to be out early
A man and woman hug each other outside HMP Bristol as inmates are released from jail early
People spray a man with sparkling wine after he walked out of HMP Nottingham this morning
Ben Savage, who was among those released from HMP Thameside, told MailOnline he was going to celebrate with a beer, adding he was ‘pleased’ to be out.
Tucking into a pack of salt and vinegar crisps – and wearing the tracksuit top, shorts, and flip flops he was arrested in – he said: ‘I’ve been given £89 discharge money and I am going to get a couple of beers with my mate.
‘I’m starving – I missed breakfast this morning and they let me out before lunch, so crisps it is for now. I’ve been in for three weeks, so it’s not loads off my sentence.
‘But this is the second time I’ve had early release. I hate Labour, I’ve actually always been Conservative. And I got out even earlier last time under the Tories.’
Mr Savage was released a week early after being convicted of shoplifting, and was wanted on recall when he handed himself in to police.
Ben Griffin, who was jailed for assault and assault on a police officer, pumps his fists as he celebrates being released early from HMP Nottingham
Djaber Benallaoua, who was released from HMP Isis this morning, said the early release scheme had turned him into a ‘lifelong Labour voter’
Fellow HMP Nottingham inmate Connor Charlesworth, who has previous convictions for stealing jewellery from his girlfriend’s grandparents, puts his thumbs up as he is released six days early from a sentence for shoplifting
He was handed a 16-week sentence earlier this year but was released from Wandsworth prison after just 20 days, he said.
Mr Savage raised his arm aloft outside the prison gates to celebrate his release.
But in a frank admission, he admitted his recent stint in prison was unlikely to change him significantly.
The labourer, from Staines-upon-Thames in Surrey, said: ‘I’ve been in an out of jail, 14 sentences in 12 jails – a couple of weeks inside doesn’t make me a changed man.
‘I was doing pretty well until I was arrested again, I was keeping out of trouble.’
He said he would spend a couple of days living with his mother, but would then find alternative accommodation using an inheritance from his grandfather, who died two years ago.
His joy was matched by inmates being released from HMP Elmley on the Isle of Sheppey, where ecstatic former prisoners celebrated with champagne and gifts, with one being given a £120 Nike tracksuit.
One, who had served four years for fraud and didn’t want to give his name, said: ‘It’s like a great escape.
‘I had a few months left I thought. I am delighted. I’ve not been in trouble since I have been in prison and I don’t want to go back.’
He added: ‘Thank you Sir Keir Starmer, you’re the best. It’s a right touch. My family are well pleased.’
Another said: ‘It’s just brilliant. I can’t wait to start again. It was quite easy in there. I kept out of trouble.
‘I thought I had got another six months left. This is a brilliant policy. It’s packed in there. People deserve to be let out early.’
He added: ‘The system won’t last much longer if it carries on that way. I have no idea how it ever got that bad.’
There are fears that newly freed inmates could end up back in prison, with the loved one of one person being released saying drug addicts were already planning on how to get their next fix.
One woman waiting for her husband outside Holme House Prison in Durham said: ‘He won’t be going back but some of the others will be back inside in weeks.
‘I heard one person ask for a crack pipe moments after getting out. You could have knocked me down with a feather.
‘They’re getting money to help them get home, as well as McDonald’s and supermarket food vouchers, but you know they’re just going to get drugs with them.’
This was a fear echoed by Andrew Lindley, who was parked outside HMP Leeds to pick up his 29-year-old son Joe Lindley.
The retired careers adviser, 70, said Joe had already told his family he may start stealing again to feed his heroin habit following his release just six weeks into a nine-month sentence for drug-related shoplifting offences.
He said: ‘It came as quite a surprise I have to say. He was on remand in Lincoln for four weeks then jailed at Leeds Crown court three weeks ago.
‘Then the next thing we know he is getting out. He has already said he will have to start stealing again if he does not get his benefits.
‘I just hope the job centre is open when we get back to Huddersfield.
‘It is very worrying. He was a low level criminal and I thought the sentence was a bit stiff anyway.
‘Being banged up in a cell 23 hours a day is not going to get him off drugs. The people who should be inside are the drug pushers and organisers.
‘It is a multi-million pound business. But at least while my son has been here he has not been on the street buying crack and heroin.
‘ I got the impression from my son the release has been very chaotically handled . You wonder if the job centres and other support services are geared up to cope with the influx.’
Mr Lindley, who has two other children, said no celebrations were planned, adding: ‘He has his own flat nearby, I don’t think I could cope with living with someone with those sort of problems.
A man drops a bag of belongings on the floor as he is reunited with loved ones outside HMP Elmley on the Isle of Sheppey
A man cheers as he is sprayed with sparking wine outside HMP Elmley on the Isle of Sheppey
‘He has been diagnosed with antisocial behaviour personality disorder but that is only because he has abused his body with drugs.
‘I hope he never comes back here again but I have an awful feeling he will be unless he decides to change.’
His son later emerged with his hoodie wrapped around his face and told his father to leave immediately.
Elsewhere, one released prisoner called Jackie told LBC radio: ‘You feel happy you’re getting out, but then the reality of it sort of sinks in, and in the end you sort of end up just thinking you may as well have just stayed here.
‘It’s not brilliant in there – I don’t want to sound like I want to be in there – but then I come out here, then I go probably drink too much or whatever. And then I’ll end up back in with more offences. I’d have rather just sat there.
‘I promise you I’m not just staying it – I really would’ve rather just stayed in – not because I like it, it’s because I know I’m going to be on a bench tonight. I was just after a nice warm cell, a nice padmate, television, kettle and three square meals a day.’
Outside Category B HMP Elmley on the Isle of Sheppey, jubilant prisoners said ‘thank you Keir Starmer, you’re the best’ as they walked out.
Several being freed from the prison were welcomed with hugs and kisses from waiting family and friends, who came with champagne and a sound system blasting out music.
Bottles of champagne were popped when one, thought to be in his early 20s, was released with a bag of belongings. There were also chants of ‘time to celebrate’.
One, who was released at 9.30am, had served four years for fraud. The man, who did not want to give his name, said: ‘It’s like a great escape.
‘I had a few months left I thought. I am delighted. I’ve not been in trouble since I have been in prison and I don’t want to go back.’
He added: ‘Thank you Sir Keir Starmer, you’re the best. It’s a right touch. My family are well pleased.’
Others smiled and embraced family and even tried on new clothes which had been brought to them. Some embraced partners with kisses.
Many of the women were wearing short dresses and make-up in reparation for their prison reunions. One prisoner was given a new £120 Nike tracksuit.
Another said: ‘It’s just brilliant. I can’t wait to start again. It was quite easy in there. I kept out of trouble. I thought I had got another six months left. This is a brilliant policy. It’s packed in there. People deserve to be let out early.’
He added: ‘The system won’t last much longer if it carries on that way. I have no idea how it ever got that bad.’
Another said: ‘I don’t want to talk, I want to get out of here before they try and put me back in.’
The young man who was welcomed with champagne came out with his arms out spread and was embraced by waiting family.
Some had been at the prison since 7am waiting for his release and had been to the prison reception at least ten times asking when he was coming out.
One woman could be heard loudly shouting, complaining he had not been released yet.
She said: ‘It’s a f****g joke. Why isn’t he out yet?’
When he was, there was a party-like atmosphere – but the family refused to comment when approached.
Outside Manchester’s Strangeways jail today, luxury cars cruised the streets as friends and relatives waited for prisoners to be released.
A Mercedes SUV and Land Rover greeted one offender who chose not speak to the press. He changed from a tracksuit into a new set of clothes before jumping into the waiting Mercedes.
Convicted car burglar Karl Wilson walked off down Southall Street with just a plastic bag as he headed for the station.
Wilson hit out at the government over the lawless conditions he described in the Victorian era prison which he said was plagued by rats, drugs and gangs.
He told how the skies above the prison were controlled by drones at night, sent to drop drugs off to gangsters. Addicts who racked up debts with the dealers who controlled the wings were ‘popped’ as punishment.
Wilson said: ‘There is nobody to help you mate like on the telly. If you can’t pay for your drugs you are getting stabbed.’
Wilson said that mobile phone use was rife and that the wings were plagued by giant rats. He said: ‘That is the worse prison I have ever been in. Ever.’
Wilson urged the Prime Minister to take the prison crisis seriously and invest money into the ‘broken system’, adding: ‘It’s got to be a priority.’
As the sun rose in London today, the first inmates to be released from HMP Isis, a Category C young offenders institution in Thamesmead, south east London, walked out – with some being greeted by family members.
Djaber Benallaoua, 20, who is a convicted drug dealer, was greeted by five friends this morning. He said the early release policy had made him a ‘lifelong Labour voter’.
Asked how he felt to be free, he said: ‘I thank Labour. Because I’ve come out five or six months early than I was supposed to so I’m just happy.’
Benallaoua was originally handed a two-and-a-half-year sentence but was let out six months earlier than planned.
He went on: ‘It’s a very good policy because it’s given a lot of prisoners a lot of hope.
‘When prisoners found out they’d be released early they were very positive.’
And asked about his future plans, he said: ‘I’m just elated right now. I’m gonna get lit.’
Another inmate thanked Sir Keir for policy, saying it was a ‘smart decision’.
Daniel Rutuls, 19, was the 15th person to walk free from HMP Isis at 10am when he was released a month early after spending almost a year-and-a-half inside.
He was originally given a three-year sentence for aggravated burglary.
The teenager, from Harlesden in North London, said: ‘I’m really happy to be out. It’s only a month early but it’s still worth it.
‘The reaction was very positive when we found out we would be released. Being in there is long.’ (slang for annoying)
Asked if he had a message for Sir Keir Starmer, he joked: ‘Thank you, and it’s a smart decision, because now you’ve got more space.’
And he said he would ‘100 per cent’ vote Labour now.
Do YOU know any of the released inmates? Email tips@dailymail.com
Stuart Bennett dances after leaving HMP Leeds after the early release scheme came into effect
People hug each other outside HMP Nottingham as dozens of prisoners are released from the jail
A pair of men hug each other as prisoners are released from HMP Leeds this morning
A man gives the camera two middle fingers as he walks out of HMP Leeds under Labour’s scheme this morning
Calvin Foster, 25, who was jailed for conspiracy to commit robbery, said he was going to ‘chill and work’ with his girlfriend and friends after walking out of the south east London prison.
Foster, a mechanic who had been handed a 25-month sentence for conspiracy to commit robbery, was one of the first to leave just before 8.30am.
He told MailOnline: ‘It’s jokes, my actual release date was tomorrow. It’s one day earlier, but I’ll take it. It’s sweet, isn’t it.
‘I didn’t find out I was being released early until I got my papers through a few days ago.
‘I kept my head down inside, got on with my stuff. I kept myself to myself – didn’t get in with any gangs or nothing.
‘I’m a good boy now. I’m going to see my girlfriend, see my mates, and just chill and work. I ain’t going back in there (prison).’
Another young man who declined to talk on his release said ‘no, I apologise’ before embracing a family member and getting into a waiting car.
Meanwhile, at HMP Wandsworth a large group of young men were seen listening to music and smoking as they waited for someone to be released.
The group had two bottles of Luc Belaire sparkling wine ready for the welcome party as they waited for an hour for the first prisoners to be released.
The first person to walk out just before 10am confirmed to MailOnline he had been set free as part of the early release scheme.
The man, who did not want to give his name, told MailOnline it felt ‘good’ to be free and he had accommodation lined up.
John Price holds up a bag of his belongings after he is released early from Nottingham Prison this morning
Price gives the thumbs up as he is released four days early after being sentenced for a domestic related incident
A man puts his arm in the air as a group of people walk out of HMP Liverpool this morning
The second prisoner was released around 10 minutes later. He embraced the group of men outside and said he had been released four months early through a four year sentence.
Another inmate released from the prison told reporters the first thing he was going to do was ‘go to McDonald’s’.
The man, who didn’t give his name, added that the prison was overcrowded and that people criticising the policy ‘haven’t been in there’.
Not everyone was happy to be out though, with Jack Creighton, 54, telling reporters he was going to ‘spend the night on a park bench’ due to having no accommodation lined up.
At Holme House prison in Stockton-on-Tees there were cries of delight and beaming smiles from inmates as they passed through the large retracting metal doors.
Taxis ferried inmates away from the 34-year-old prison, while wives and girlfriends patiently waited in a visitor car park for emotional reunions.
One newly-freed prisoner, picked up in a white Audi, celebrated his early release by stopping at a nearby McDonald’s drive-thru minutes later.
One prisoner, who served time for fraud but did not want to be named, told how he was freed ahead of his scheduled November release date.
He said: ‘There are loads coming out today – there are 52 of us. We’re coming out six at a time, the next lot are just being processed now.
‘I was meant to be out in November but instead of serving half the sentence in prison, they’ve taken ten per cent off.’
A prisoner released early from his two-year assault sentence told how he was going home to Redcar, North Yorkshire.
He said: ‘I was meant to be out in November but they told me a month ago that I’d be coming out a couple of months earlier.
A man hugs a woman outside Holme House Prison in Stockton-on-Tees this morning
A man carrying three duffel bags shouts as he walks out of HMP Wandsworth this morning
A group of men carrying personal belongings leave Holme House Prison in Stockto- on-Tees this morning
‘I’ve been buzzing to get out. I’ve got a couple of meetings with probation then I’m going to see my family. I can’t wait to see my mam and dad.
‘We’ll have a drink to celebrate.’
One prisoner told how the jail, which has capacity for 1,179 prisoners but only 38 spare beds, was ‘rammed’.
Released from a two-year sentence for violence, the man, carrying two holdalls of prison possessions, said: ‘It’s chock-a-block in there.
‘People are climbing the walls with anxiety. I’ve been coming to jails since 1998, but this is the worst it’s ever been. There’s no space to move in there. It’s horrendous.’
A man covers his eyes as he greets someone outside Strangeways Prison in Manchester
Stuart Bennett gives a thumbs up after being released from HMP Leeds this morning
Jason Hoganson gives a thumbs up for the camera after being released from HMP Durham this morning
There were similarly strong words from offenders released at HMP Manchester, with Karl Wilson, saying: ‘The system is f***** plain and simple. Drugs and mobile phones are rife.
‘The first thing he needs to deal with is the volume of foreign prisoners in British jails. The second is to get serious about the prison system. And the third is to put some money into the system.’
Charlie Taylor, HM Inspectorate of Prisons, has said the government has ‘no choice but to do something’ as ‘the bath was in danger of overflowing, and they either had to turn the taps off or they had to let some water out’.
However, he told Sky News this morning: ‘It’s a risky time with so many prisoners coming out at the same time. Normally, there are about 1,000 prisoners coming out a week.
‘Most of those 1,000 prisoners will still come out this week.
‘But on top of that, we’ve got 1,700 other prisoners, and then in October, we have another tranche of around 2,000 coming out as well, inevitably, that puts some risks into local communities and greater strain on already stretched probation services.’
He told BBC Breakfast: ‘It’s inevitable that some of these prisoners will get recalled to custody and it’s inevitable that some of them will go out homeless.
A person believed to be a prisoner hides his face as he walks out of HMP Liverpool this morning
A pair of men carrying bags, with one attempting to cover his face with a blue coat, leave the gates at HMP Liverpool this morning
A person is seen exiting from the gates of HMP Liverpool in Merseyside this morning carrying a bag
Two prisoners walk out of HMP Isis in south east London this morning after being released as Labour’s early release scheme comes into force
Two prisoners leave HMP Isis this morning as 1,700 inmates are set free today under plans to deal with prison overcrowding
At HMP Isis in Thamesmead prisoners were released from 8am this morning under the Labour scheme
The view at HMP Liverpool this morning where some prisoners are expected to be released early under the scheme
‘If people are coming out, they’re not properly prepared, and they’re homeless, then what we’ll see is the danger that they’ll commit more offences, or that they breach their bail conditions, in which case they’ll end up back inside again.’
His claim that some inmates would reoffend was echoed by Martin Jones, the chief of probation.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme it is a ‘certainty’ some will reoffend, adding that ‘around a third’ will commit further crimes.
Mr Jones added that the scheme was putting a ‘huge amount of pressure’ on the probation service and that due to a lack of probation officers the system is ‘significantly overstretched’.
Inmates currently behind bars will be released after serving only 40 per cent of their sentence – the first time this has been lowered from the previous 50 per cent.
The deeply controversial move will be the largest release of prisoners in a decade, with some prisons in rural areas preparing to lay on coaches to transport freed criminals.
Among those being released is Lawson Natty, who supplied a machete that was used to kill 14-year-old Gordon Gault in Newcastle in November 2022.
Gordon Gault (pictured), 14, died in hospital six days after he was attacked with a blade during an ongoing feud in Elswick, Newcastle, in November 2022. One of the men convicted over his manslaughter, Lawson Natty, will be freed as part of the early release scheme
Lawson Natty is set to be released early, just six months after he was sentenced for the killing
The 18-year-old was convicted of manslaughter and jailed for two years and eight months in March, but will be released today, to the disgust of his victim’s mother, Dionne Barrett.
She told Good Morning Britain: ‘I feel totally sick to my stomach that he’s allowed out now after only serving months it’s absolutely sickening.
‘He’ll be getting out within the next couple of days he will be going to an immigration processing centre to start with but then he could get bailed from there.
‘He’s going to be back out on the streets after months.
‘Fair enough let petty crimes out, not somebody who’s killed a 14-year-old child, someone who purchases machetes. What if he goes out and does it again to somebody else.’
I think it’s a massive risk, a massive risk in these circumstances for someone to be let out after such a small amount of time
Among those released is a thug who told his ex girlfriend he was ‘enjoying’ attacking her and another who broke his partner’s jaw are among the prisoners who could be free men today under Labour’s early release scheme.
Among the 1,700 set to walk free on Tuesday is Connar Shaw (pictured), who was sentenced to 32 months behinds bars after breaking his partner’s jaw, strangling her, and threatening to throw acid in her face
Shane Riley, who said he ‘enjoyed’ attacking his partner after she broke off their relationship will also be free after serving barely nine months of his sentence
Jordan Green, who was put behind bars after he pleaded guilty to robbery and dangerous driving in March, will also be released under the new scheme
Among those set to walk free are Connar Shaw, from Rotherham, who will only serve 13 months of his 32-month prison sentence after strangling his partner and threatening to throw acid in her face during years of abuse.
It comes despite his victim saying in court how she would be scared when he is released as ‘there will be repercussions and that he will want to get his revenge on me for being in prison’.
She added: ‘Connar is a psycho and he frightens me – I’m afraid that one day he will end up killing me.’
Shane Riley, from Swansea, will be released after serving less than nine months for punching, kicking and headbutting his ex partner after she broke up with him on June 8, 2020.
Riley, who said he was ‘enjoying’ the abuse, was sentenced to 23 months for causing actual bodily harm, common assault, making threats to kill, and criminal damage. He will serve less than nine months.
Another offender who will taste freedom will be Jordan Green, who was put behind bars after he pleaded guilty to robbery and dangerous driving in March.
He was jailed for 27 months after an incident saw him approach a woman’s window in Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees and screech: ‘Get out of the f***ing car.’
He proceeded to hurl her mobile phone out of his window as he sped off, which allowed her to take an image of the criminal.
Green, who was previously handed a prison sentence after he attacked his own mother, will only spend four months in jail.
Others set to be freed include drug dealer Patrick Scotland, of west London, who was jailed for ten years in 2020 after police found £2.2million of MDMA and crystal meth in his flat.
Patrick Scotland, of west London, who was jailed for ten years in 2020 after pleading guilty to possession of Class A and B drugs with intent to supply
Jason Holland, of Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire, was jailed for 12 years for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs
Fellow criminal Jason Holland, from Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire, who was part of a gang which supplied drugs worth £70million around the M25 could be freed despite being jailed for 12 years in 2020.
Prison bosses are now having to ‘carefully choreograph’ the mass releases over fears of violent clashes between gang rivals, MailOnline understands.
Meanwhile, a rise in homelessness is also feared as some prisoners are released with nowhere to go.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is providing accommodation for 12 weeks only, meaning some could end up on the streets and committing crime.
Prison leaders said there was even a risk that some of those freed today will become homeless straight away.
Mark Fairhurst, national chairman of the Prison Officers’ Association, told the Mail: ‘History tells us that there will be people who slip through the net.
A significant number of inmates at jails such as HMP Wandsworth and HMP Thameside in London are subject to ‘non-association’ orders preventing them from mixing with other inmates – usually members of rival gangs.
This means their releases will have to be staggered to avoid violence, a source told MailOnline.
They added that these releases were being done in small groups, but warned that any delays with getting prisoners to reception, recovering their property and arranging transport could lead to rivals being brought together by mistake.
Dame Diana Johnson, the policing minister, insisted plans would be put in place to avoid re-offending by domestic abusers and other high-risk criminals.
A significant number of inmates at jails such as HMP Wandsworth are subject to ‘non-association’ orders
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood during a visit to HMP Bedford in Harpur, Bedfordshire
She told Sky News: ‘There’s been a real trawl through to try and identify where their primary offence isn’t domestic abuse, we know there’s a history, and that’s where the steps have been put in to protect as best we can.
‘Because we know, unfortunately, domestic abuse is so prevalent amongst the offending community.’
Asked by the BBC how many prisoners were due to be released today, she said: ‘I understand it’s in the region of about 1,700.’
A senior government source warned yesterday that a high proportion of those released would be domestic abusers.
Nicole Jacobs, the domestic abuse commissioner, warned that about a third of domestic abuse survivors were likely unaware that their perpetrators are due to set free.
She told the Times that victims were ‘paying the price’ for Britain’s overcrowded prisons, warning that survivors are at risk of their attackers getting in contact with them, with them likely knowing their workplace and home address.
‘We must ensure that victims aren’t lost in the shuffle of the changes that are being made in the prison release schemes and the perception of justice and fairness.
‘Victims of domestic abuse are very focused on those release dates, it causes them sleepless nights, they will change so much of their daily activities knowing that their perpetrator is being released, the uncertainty of not knowing if that person will comply with licensing conditions and of release.
Criminals exempt from the new early release scheme include those with sentences for sexual and violent offences of over four years (stock image)
‘This is incredibly stressful in the normal situation so for those dates to change unexpectedly or without them knowing that is a huge consequence for them to pay.’
Newly appointed Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has said measures have been taken to reduce the number of domestic offenders being freed by excluding those serving time for coercive control, stalking, harassment and breach of a restraining or non-molestation order.
But prisoners convicted of broader offences like assault or criminal damage, which are not specific to domestic violence, are not excluded.
Official figures showed there were 88,521 people behind bars on Friday, 171 more than the previous record set at the end of last week.
The prison population has now risen by 1,025 people over the past four weeks and now stands at its highest level since weekly population data was first published in 2011.
Crimes exempt from the new early release scheme include prisoners sentences for sexual and violent offences of over four years.
The Justice Secretary said she has been told that the emergency early release plan could prevent prisons running out of space within weeks.
The MOJ has said the move will give them an extra 18 months to allow more prison places to be freed up and allow for a wider review of sentencing to take place.
