Ministers will unveil a £110 million plan on September 1 to create more prison places as the row over the early release of thousands of criminals intensifies.
Office space, storage areas and even washrooms in prisons will be converted into cells with the aim of adding 14,000 places by 2031.
Justice Secretary Alex Norris will also announce investment in land purchases to secure potential sites for future prisons, and a separate £18.9 million for specialist victim support services.
The government has also signed a contract to start building a 1,700-capacity prison in Lancashire.
But Tory Justice spokesman Nick Timothy said: ‘There are 700 fewer prison places than a year ago. And the flagship prison in this announcement – which includes no new funding – was initiated by the last Conservative government.”
He added: “Within a few weeks, thousands of dangerous criminals will be released onto the streets thanks to us Andy Burnhamincluding perpetrators of some of the most despicable crimes.
“He must bring emergency legislation to Parliament… to stop this scandal and keep the public safe.”
About 5,000 prisoners were due to be released early next month, up from 6,000 after ministers intervened to free rapists and serious child sex offenders.
Justice Minister Alex Norris during a visit to Hammersmith Probation Office on August 28
Prime Minister Andy Burnham speaks during a visit to Tata Steel in Port Talbot, Wales
Thames Valley Police mugshots of Jessie Cole (left) and Albert Bowers who are no longer eligible for parole
But this weekend the Prime Minister changed the policy again to keep PC Andrew Harper’s killers behind bars.
Anyone convicted of unlawful killing will be excluded from the scheme. It means Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, who were convicted of PC Harper’s manslaughter in 2020, will no longer be eligible for parole next year.
To implement this change, ministers are finding additional scope by releasing prisoners serving indefinite prison sentences from public protection sentences (IPPs).
However, critics say this could pose a much greater risk to the public as many IPP prisoners are considered too dangerous to release. It will also put pressure on the police forces that will have to monitor them.
Around 4,500 prisoners will now be released ahead of schedule over the next ten months in a desperate bid to ease pressure on the system.
Justice Secretary Alex Davies-Jones yesterday acknowledged that the change will mean prisons will be ‘very tight’.
Of those who have been released, she told BBC Breakfast: ‘When these offenders are released from prison, the assumption will be that they will all be placed on a GPS monitoring tag.’ There would also be restrictions on their freedom of movement.
Prison governors have criticized the ‘revolving door’ of prisoners being released early to reduce overcrowding. One of them told the BBC: ‘We see the same people coming back after being released early and offending again or breaking their sentence [release] lines.’
