Robert Jenrick tears into Labour's early release scheme as over 1,000 prisoners will be freed without tags: 'Don't put these people on our streets!'

Reacting to the latest controversial development in the scheme, Mr Jenrick told GB News that if Reform UK were in Government, they would "never have released the prisoners".

He said: "I would have kept them in jail. I don't care if there are two, three, four or five prisoners in each cell, don't put these people on our streets.

"We know that many of them re-offend, we know that the tags don't work, that the probation service is overstretched and doesn't have the capacity to follow them and to ensure that they don't pose a danger to the public."

Mr Jenrick explained that a Reform UK Government would remove "all foreign prisoners" from the UK to either their home countries or other prisons.

Robert Jenrick has torn into Labour's early release scheme as it is revealed that more than 1,000 freed criminals will not be fitted with tracking tags

GB NEWS / PA

He said: "What would Reform do? Well, we want to get all of the foreign prisoners out of this country, whether that's back home to their own countries or to others elsewhere in the world.

"And we announced that we would be in talks with El Salvador, a country that does this already for the United States, and that we would fly as many of these foreign criminals as possible to the giant prisons that are being constructed in El Salvador. That is the answer."

The Reform MP added that the party's long term plan will also ensure the creation of more prisons across the UK.

He told GB News: "In the long run, it's building more prisons, that's what we've got to do. The last Conservative Government didn't do it, that was a huge mistake, and they closed the old Victorian gaols before even the new ones had come on board.

"But at Reform, we've found the money, we've found the savings. We're going to build those prisons so that we can keep dangerous people off the streets of this country."

Turning to the migration crisis, Mr Jenrick was asked for his reaction to an undetected small boat arrival in Kent, reported to authorities by a GB News producer.

He responded: "It's very worrying indeed. Look, you've got migrants now coming over on small boats and managing to get all the way to shore, and then some of them have just disappeared, probably never to be seen again.

"And we know that some of those young men may pose a risk to women, to our people. We also know that hostile states have been using small boats to smuggle in terrorists and agents into this country, countries like Iran.

Mr Jenrick told GB News that Reform UK would remove all foreign prisoners to their home countries or foreign prisons

GB NEWS

"And so if they're able to get to our shores unimpeded by Border Force and the authorities, then who knows what they might do as well."

In a statement, a Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "Public protection is our priority and were imposing the toughest-ever controls on offenders.

"We're investing £100 million in the biggest expansion of tagging in British history, introducing a presumption to tag offenders before release for the first time, and strengthening victim protections through new alert systems.

"This is part of our record £700million investment in probation and community services, recruiting 2,300 trainee officers over the last two years and a further 1,300 this year, and ensuring dangerous offenders are kept under closer surveillance than ever before."