It is understood by News that one of the various possibilities being explored to alleviate overcrowding on the prison estate—where there are estimated to be just over 1,000 available spots in jails throughout England and Wales—is having prisoners serve out their sentences in the Baltic state.
The nation was still reeling from the rioting that followed the Southport stabbings last month, and it was reported that there were just 100 available spots in male jails in England and Wales. This is the closest the system has gotten to filling up.
The plan was not ruled out by Home Office minister Dame Angela Eagle, who stated that the new Labour government had “inherited an absolute crisis in our prison system with very few places remaining there”.
“Colleagues in the [Ministry of Justice] will be considering anything that they can to alleviate the problem,” the spokesperson told News.
What we cannot allow is for those convicted of severe or serious crimes to be free from prison.
