Gloating prisoners freed early with £200 cash in pocket

The first batch of 25,500 scheduled for early release left with almost £200 of taxpayers' cash in their pocket.

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And many promised to spend some of it thanking the new Prime Minister.

One man set free from Bristol jail said: "I've got money in my pocket and I'm going for a pint on Gordon Brown. Cheers mate!"

A fellow prisoner, serial offender Lee Tucker, clutched £156 of taxpayers' money and declared: "It sounds like a joke, doesn't it, letting people out early? But I'm happy. Cheers mate."

The celebrations were the first in what is likely to be many months of good news for prisoners freed up to 18 days before their proper date for release.

Former Justice Secretary Lord Falconer ordered the early releases to ease the overcrowding crisis in prisons, where the number of inmates has hit a record 81,000.

His successor, Jack Straw, has said: "This will carry on until we do get stability in the prison population. It is likely to run at about 1,000 a month for some time."

A Prison Service spokesman said that yesterday about 1,100 inmates were freed early. They included five from Bristol, 35 from Strangeways in Manchester, and 70 from Walton prison in Liverpool.

In all 25,500 prisoners are likely to released early, with payments of up to £172.14 to cover their living costs over the 18 days when they will no longer be benefiting from the accommodation and food offered by the prisons.

Because of the hurried introduction of the policy, the first payments are being made in one cash lump sum. Eventually they are likely be made by giro cheque.

The burglars, drug dealers and fraudsters are also entitled to have their rent paid by the Government for 18 days. These payments - which could be £100 a week or more - will be made direct to landlords.

The criminals freed early will be serving terms of between four weeks and four years. Those with sentences of more than a year are officially under the supervision of the probation service until the time they were supposed to be released.

At Bristol prison, Tucker, 28, who had been serving a four-month sentence for driving while disqualified, added: "When they told me about this early release, I thought I had no chance as I had such bad previous."

Ross Hendrie, 28, who was released 18 days early from a five-month sentence for theft, said he was transferred from Dorset because the jails were full near his home town of Weymouth.

"It certainly doesn't bother me if they let us out early," he said. "They moved me up from Dorset because they were full down there and now they are letting a load of us out up here.

"Happy days. You don't have to do as much time for the crime."

Robert Smith, 28, was released 14 days early from a two-and-a-half month sentence for theft. He laughed at the early release system, saying: "It's a joke. It's so crowded in there, really cramped. Are they going to have to let everyone out early? I have been given some money, yes, and I'm going out celebrating tonight."

At Armley prison in Leeds, a man waiting for the release of his father said: "He's only been in two weeks. It's ridiculous, but I'm well happy - we're going out for a drink tonight."