The Ministry of Justice has abruptly stopped its coronavirus early release scheme after six prisoners were mistakenly freed. The error occurred at two open prisons – Leyhill in Gloucestershire and Sudbury in Derbyshire.
Authorities have been working quickly to track down and return the released offenders to custody. Officials have stated that the prisoners posed a low risk to the public.
The incident has caused significant embarrassment for the justice secretary, who had previously assured the public that strict checks were in place before any prisoner was released early.
The Prison Service has attributed the mistake to “human error” and has pledged to implement changes to tighten procedures and prevent a similar situation from happening again.
Despite these assurances, questions remain about how six offenders were able to slip through the system and be released by mistake.
Originally published by UKNIP.
