‘Big up Keir Starmer,’ says inmate as he poses with Bentley after parole

A prisoner gave Keir Starmer a ‘big up’ and posed with a Bentley after being released early from prison as part of the government’s policy to free up prison space.

Daniel Dowling-Brooks, 29, celebrated with his friends, mother and sister on Tuesday after they picked him up in a convoy of a white Bentley and a black Mercedes G-wagon outside HMP Swaleside.

The 29-year-old told reporters he had spent seven years in prison on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, for kidnapping and causing grievous bodily harm to someone who owed his friend money – but he left seven weeks earlier than planned. .

The father-of-two said the first thing he would do is “go to McDonalds, go to my hostel and follow all the rules”.

When he was released, he said, “I feel good, man. I feel happy.”

He added that he would now spend more time with his two children and his friends.

He also expressed remorse for his crime and described feeling bad.

When asked on Tuesday whether the Prime Minister was happy to be captured by criminals, Sir Keir’s spokesman said: “No, the Prime Minister shares the public anger.”

Dowling-Brooks is one of about 1,100 inmates expected to be released early Tuesday in an effort to reduce prison overcrowding.

On the same day, Justice Minister Shabana Mahmood launched a sentencing inquiry, which will look at handing out more sentences to offenders outside prison.

The review, chaired by former justice secretary David Gauke, aims to explore tougher sentencing outside prison while ensuring there is space to lock up the most dangerous offenders.

“We need to expand the use of punishment outside of prison, and I am very clear that this must maintain public confidence,” Ms Mahmood told BBC Radio 4. Today.

“People still need to know that you will be punished for breaking the laws of our country, even if you don’t serve a prison sentence.

“There are real consequences, that you still really feel the loss of your freedom.”

Tags are already used to monitor offenders serving sentences outside prison, but the review will consider introducing emerging technologies used in other countries, she said.

Asked whether she was taking a new approach and locking down fewer people in Britain, she said the rate of increase is such that “no one can keep up with demand”.

The prison population is growing by 4,500 every year and the government has committed to creating an additional 14,000 prison spaces.

It is also looking to foreign jurisdictions for ideas, such as in Texas, where authorities have used good behavior credits.

Punishments outside of prison may involve the use of wristwatches or apps that ‘prompt’ offenders to ask whether they have met license conditions, in addition to sobriety tags or home detention curfews.

Community alternatives and fines instead of prison will also be explored, as will the impact of short custodial sentences.

The review will also consider whether more can be done to tackle the prevalence of crimes and crimes against women and girls, by creating sentences that reflect the severity of the act.

Ms Mahmood announced plans in July to temporarily reduce the portion of their sentences that prisoners must serve behind bars from 50% to 40%, as the Justice Department said overcrowding had brought prisons to the “point of collapse” .

The first release of around 1,700 prisoners from prisons in England and Wales began on September 10. The final tranche, which begins Tuesday, expanded eligibility to those serving prison sentences of five years or more.

Ms Mahmood said the mistakes that led to the wrongful release of 37 prisoners as part of the plan to reduce overcrowding had been “ironed out”.

“That issue has been addressed and resolved, and for the releases happening today that is not an error that will happen again,” she told Times Radio.

The number of recalls in the parolee cohort is “broadly in line” with usual prison releases, she told LBC after a union of probation officers said a “significant number” had been recalled to custody.

Prisons are expected to reach critical capacity again in July.

The number of prison spaces fluctuates, but it is believed there are currently around 89,000 in total.

The sentencing review findings will be submitted in the spring of next year. The results of the evaluation are not expected to come into effect until March 2026 at the earliest.