Cells in laundry rooms... the plan to find an extra 14,000 jail spaces

Get your news delivered straight to you by 7am - sign up to our new Morning Mail newsletter for FREEJULIE BINDEL: Labour letting dangerous men stalk, torment and attack their ex-partners is worst possible response to the prisons crisis See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 18:38 EDT, 31 August 2026 | Updated: 20:11 EDT, 31 August 2026 Ministers will unveil a £110million scheme on September 1 to create more prison places as the row over the early release of thousands of criminals intensifies.Office space, storage rooms and even laundry rooms in jails will be converted into cells with the aim of adding 14,000 spaces by 2031.Justice Secretary Alex Norris will also announce investment for land purchases to secure potential sites for future prisons, and a separate £18.9million for specialist victim support services.The Government has also signed a contract to begin work on a 1,700-place 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 contains no new funding – was put in motion by the last Conservative government.'He added: 'In a matter of weeks thousands of dangerous criminals will be released on to our streets thanks to Andy Burnham, including perpetrators of some of the most vile crimes.'He must bring emergency legislation before Parliament... to stop this scandal and keep the public safe.' Some 5,000 inmates were due to be released early from next month, down from 6,000 after ministers intervened to exempt rapists and serious child sex offenders. Justice Secretary Alex Norris during a visit to Hammersmith Probation Office on August 28 Prime Minister Andy Burnham speaking 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 early releaseBut over the weekend the Prime Minister changed the policy yet 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 early release next year.To make the change, ministers are finding extra spaces by freeing inmates serving indefinite terms for public protection sentences (IPPs). However, critics say this could pose a far higher risk to the public because many IPP prisoners are assessed as too dangerous to release. It will also put pressure on police forces who will have to monitor them.Some 4,500 inmates are now due to be freed earlier than planned in the next ten months in a desperate bid to alleviate strain on the system. Yesterday justice minister Alex Davies-Jones acknowledged the change will mean prison places are going to be 'very tight'.Of those being released, she told BBC Breakfast: 'When these offenders come out of prison, the presumption will be that they will all be placed on a GPS monitoring tag.' There would also be limits on their movements.Prison governors have criticised the 'revolving door' of inmates being released early to ease overcrowding. One told the BBC: 'We see the same people coming back after being released early and reoffending again, or breaking their [release] rules.'