Prison recalls hit 10-year high after more than 60,000 inmates freed early to tackle overcrowding

Oliver Partridge
Thu, 30 Apr 2026 21:54:33 +0000

Prison recalls across England and Wales have surged to their highest level in a decade, with nearly 50,000 offenders put back behind bars over the past year for violating their licence conditions, Ministry of Justice figures reveal.

The total of 48,327 recalls represents a 29 per cent increase compared with 2024, when 37,573 prisoners were recalled - more than doubling since records began in 2015 at 21,467.

The spike follows the introduction of emergency measures in September 2024, when ministers launched the SDS40 scheme to address severe overcrowding.

Under this policy, 60,108 inmates have been released early, serving just 40 per cent of their sentences, rather than half.

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The data reveals British nationals accounted for 90 per cent of those freed early, totalling 54,087 individuals, while foreign nationals made up 9.8 per cent at 5,917.

GB News has played a part in flagging foreign criminals scheduled for an early parole, such as Zahid Iqbal, who was among four men who plotted to bomb an Army base in Luton in 2013.

He was jailed for life with a custodial sentence of at least 11 years and three months, with a five-year extension period.

Earlier this year, the parole board ruled that Al-Qaeda-inspired Iqbal could be released early - until GB News highlighted the case, prompting Justice Secretary David Lammy to intervene by issuing a new review of the case.

Only this week did it emerge Iqbal had been released once before in 2021, where he was later recalled in 2023 due to fresh fears he was still in contact with extremist links.

Conservative Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy was among those to criticise the Government's handling of criminals, accusing Labour of being "ideologically incapable of getting tough on crime".

The new findings also reveal those aged between 30 and 39 comprised the largest group released, representing 37.5 per cent, or 22,484 prisoners, with the 40 to 49 age bracket following at 23.9 per cent.

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Nearly a third of early releases involved offenders serving sentences of six months or less, with a further 14.8 per cent serving between six and 12 months.

HMP Humber near Hull topped the list with 1,827 early releases, followed by Fosse Way in Leicester at 1,646.

The total prison population currently stands at 85,704, having fallen from a record peak of 88,521 in September 2024.

The new figures show foreign nationals comprised 12 per cent of the 87,342 inmates held at the end of March, numbering 10,487 - marking a slight decrease from 12.3 per cent a year earlier.

The proportion of foreign national prisoners has hovered around 12 per cent throughout the past decade, reaching its highest point of 12.5 per cent in June 2021.

Albanian nationals represent the most common foreign nationality in custody at 1.1 per cent, with Irish, Polish and Romanian prisoners each accounting for 0.8 per cent.

The Ministry of Justice defended its approach to releases and recalls, stating the surge in those returning to prison was a "symptom of our prisons being left to reach the brink of collapse, which is why we took tough and immediate action to avoid this catastrophe".

A department spokeswoman added: "Now we are building 14,000 prison places and reforming sentencing so our jails reduce reoffending, cut crime, and keep victims safe."

That said, the Ministry of Justice acknowledged the SDS40 scheme was among several major policy shifts in recent years that had "likely" contributed to the increase in prisoners being returned to custody.