Coronavirus: 'Low-risk' inmates should be released to prevent spread of disease, former prisons chief says

Nick Hardwick believes move would ease strain on burdened system

Former chief inspector of prisons and other organisations are calling for the early release of "low-risk" prisoners (PA)

Low-risk prisoners should be freed so that prisons do not become “incubators” for coronavirus, a former chief inspector of prisons has suggested.

Nick Hardwick warned that the prison system was under additional strain because “hundreds” of prison workers were currently self-isolating.

He told the BBC’s Newsnight programme on Thursday that low-risk inmates with a few months left to serve could be released to help alleviate this pressure.

Mr Hardwick said: "If you're talking about low-risk prisoners coming to the end of their sentences, it's perfectly possible to manage them in the community safely."

"No-one is saying you're going to let out huge numbers of dangerous people, but you can reduce pressure on the system by letting out a bit early people who maybe have got a month or two longer to serve,” he added.

The former chief inspector of prisons also said that more prisoners have the disease than current figures suggest, given that prisoners live in close proximity to each other.

Although he acknowledged that some people would instinctively disapprove of his suggestion, Mr Hardwick said it is a problem for everyone if prisons become “incubators for the disease”.

His remarks came the day after a prisoner at HMP Manchester became the first inmate in the UK to test positive for Covid-19.

On Thursday, two prisoners at HMP Kilmarnock in Scotland were also found to have the virus.

APPEAL, a charity which supports prisoners, has also called for some prisoners to be released early in the wake of the pandemic.

The Reform think-tank has said that 2,305 "low-risk" offenders, who committed crimes such as shop lifting, should be released from prison. This would also save the government money, with the monthly cost per inmate being around £3,601.

Additional reporting from PA