Labour frees nearly 50,000 criminals from jail early in first year of controversial 'soft justice' scheme.
Labour has freed nearly 50,000 criminals from jail early under its soft justice programme.
New figures from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) showed 48,931 offenders were let out of prison onto the streets in the scheme’s first year.
The astonishing number covered releases under the programme - launched by then justice secretary Shabana Mahmood - which allows criminals to be freed after serving just 40 per cent of a sentence handed down by a court
