Prison release plans endanger public, say Tories

The Conservatives have attacked government plans to ease overcrowding in jails by limiting how long recalled prisoners can be detained.

The plans will see offenders serving one to four year sentences held for a fixed 28-day period if they are returned to prison for breaching their licence.

Ministers argue the move is required to stop jails running out of cells within months, after they inherited a capacity "crisis" from the last Tory government.

But shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said it would "put the public in danger and victims in jeopardy".

During a Commons debate on the plans, he argued for "emergency measures" to speed up the deportation of foreign national offenders instead.