Dominic Cummings claims Boris Johnson ignored prison crisis solutions

Dominic Cummings, former chief aide to Boris Johnson, has claimed that the prime minister disregarded a proposed solution to the prisons crisis in 2021, despite warnings about impending overcrowding. In 2020, emergency measures were initiated after forecasts indicated that prisons would reach capacity by winter 2023. However, Cummings asserts that Johnson abandoned these measures, leading to the current situation where thousands of prisoners are being released early to alleviate overcrowding. The decision to release around 1,700 prisoners in England and Wales comes as a response to the urgent need to prevent jails from overflowing. This action is seen as a necessary step to avoid a scenario where the courts can no longer impose sentences due to lack of space. Critics, including Labour ministers, have pointed fingers at the Conservative government for the deteriorating state of the justice system, arguing that they had no choice but to act. Concerns have been raised by the prisons watchdog regarding the potential for reoffending among those released, with some individuals likely to become homeless, increasing their risk of returning to crime. The chief inspector of prisons, Charlie Taylor, emphasized the dire situation, likening it to a bath overflowing, where the only options were to either stop the inflow or let some water out. The prison population has reached a record high of 88,521, with projections indicating a further increase of about 27,000 by 2028. This crisis has been a long time coming, as the National Audit Office had warned as early as February 2020 about the looming capacity issues in the prison system.