It is an image that channels chirpy, geezer gangsters on TV: a convicted armed kidnapper released early from jail in Kent yelling, “big up Keir Starmer!” as he posed in front of a £150,000 Bentley having served time for the non-trivial activities of kidnap and grievous bodily harm. It’s a sign of the dreadful state of the country’s jails. The government is faced with a crisis which had been building under the noses of the previous No 10 inmates.

The PM’s spokesman on Monday responded to the jarring scenes of “get out of jail free” card recipients celebrating their unearned good fortune. The capacity crunch, under which No 10 says we would see “courts unable to send offenders to prison, police unable to make arrests and unchecked criminality on our streets,” is a legacy which needed to be addressed.

So, 1,700 prisoners were released in September, and more this week; the ultimate target is to empty 5,500 prison spaces in total. Eligible prisoners serving more than five years can now end up on the outside after only 40 per cent of their fixed-term sentence, rather than 50 per cent, with exclusions for sex offenders and domestic abusers.

More serious offenders will be released after the Parole Board has assessed whether they still pose a risk, and subject to tagging or other check-in systems. It hardly takes a devotee of The Italian Job to grasp that this........

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