Amidst an ongoing crisis in the sector, the figure—which was first published by the Telegraph—represents the closest the system has gone to running out of spots.
According to government officials, the quantity of large-scale events, including football matches and festivals, meant that they had always anticipated a space crunch over the bank holiday weekend.
Although Monday is a bank holiday, courts are still in session, and inmates cannot be released until Tuesday as the numbers continue to mount.
But the stark statistic draws attention to the problem the new government is trying to solve with the shortage of spaces.
Following his appointment as prime minister earlier in the summer, Sir Keir Starmer approved plans to release some inmates after completing 40% of their sentence, as opposed to the customary 50%, which will take effect on September 10.
Following the demonstrations in Southport, the Ministry of Justice also launched Operation Early Dawn, extending the time that prisoners awaiting a court appearance can be detained in police cells until a spot becomes available.
However, the activities planned for the weekend, such as Notting Hill Carnival, have brought capacity even closer to its limit.
