Revealed: Ministry of Justice is paying police £1million per week to hold criminals in cells after judges are told to spare convicted rapists and burglars jail because Britain’s prisons are overcrowded

• Department has had to spend more than £30million housing 1,135 prisoners

The Ministry of Justice is paying police £1million per week to hold prisoners in police cells after jails filled up.

In total the department has had to spend more than £30million housing 1,135 prisoners in police cells between February and July. 

Known as Operation Safeguard, it has meant the taxpayer has, on average, funded 274 such cells per day.

It comes after crown court judges were ordered to delay sentencing hearings amid concerns that prisons in Britain have reached capacity.

Some prisoners may now be released early under new proposals from ministers to reduce prison occupancy.

The Ministry of Justice is paying police £1million per week to hold prisoners in police cells after jails filled up

Britain’s prisons are bursting at the seams, with some holding nearly double the number of inmates they were originally designed for. The average annual prison population has quadrupled between 1900 and 2023, going from just over 17,400 to around 83,100 – according to official data

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The average annual prison population has quadrupled between 1900 and 2023, going from just over 17,400 to around 83,100 – according to official data.

The busiest prison in the country is Leeds, which is currently operating at 173 per cent capacity.

This is followed by Durham (169%), Wandsworth (163%) and Lincoln (162%) – which all have a Category B security rating. Preston, Bradford, Leicester, and Doncaster are all at over 150% capacity.

New guidance in response to overcrowding means sex offenders and burglars could be let out on bail rather than handed an immediate custodial sentence.

The most dangerous criminals will reportedly have to be held in magistrates’ court cells if they are remanded in custody.

Lord Edis, the senior presiding judge in England and Wales, has ordered the sentencing of convicted criminals currently on bail to be delayed from Monday, The Times reported.

The news has caused anger and disbelief among barristers, judges, and politicians across the country.

The busiest prison in the country is Leeds (pictured), which is currently operating at 173 per cent capacity

The average annual prison population has quadrupled between 1900 and 2023, going from just over 17,400 to around 83,100 – according to official data

Leading criminal barrister Joanna Hardy-Susskind wrote on Twitter, it was dismal, while shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper labelled it ‘truly, truly shocking’

The UK’s prison population has increased substantially since the Covid pandemic in 2020 and, according to the latest figures, there are now 88,016 prisoners.

As of October 6, capacity across the whole prison estate stood at 88,667 – meaning there are only 651 spaces left.

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