Prison population forecast reduced

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Last year the Ministry of Justice said as many as 101,900 prison places could be needed by 2015, but now puts the figure at 95,800.

The reduction is explained in part by changes to sentencing policy that will see fewer criminals locked up indefinitely to protect the public.

The estimates also assume the scheme that has seen more than 34,000 prisoners released early will continue indefinitely - a fact which prompted outrage from Opposition politicians.

The Prison Reform Trust said plans for giant "Titan" prisons were now redundant.

Director Juliet Lyon said: "In a time of economic downturn and real pressure on public finances, ministers must rethink the wisdom of building giant prisons when they know that tackling the causes of a rising prison population is a more cost-effective way of protecting the public."

The Tories said the new estimates revealed ministers' "incompetence" and accused them of continuing a "reckless" early release policy.

But the Ministry of Justice said more prison places could allow them to end the "temporary" early release scheme.

The building programme would also allow for prisons to be modernised and allow for better rehabilitation of offenders, a spokesman said.

Justice Minister David Hanson said: "When there is sufficient headroom between the prison population and capacity, we will look to end the temporary end of custody licence measure. We will always ensure we have enough prison places for those offenders who need to be locked up."