Justice Secretary admits number of convicts being tagged before leaving prison is 'not where we want it to be' despite hundreds being freed early under Labour's release scheme

Published: 08:47 EST, 11 November 2026 | Updated: 08:55 EST, 11 November 2026 Too many convicts are being freed early from prison without having electronic tags fitted, the Justice Secretary admitted today.Despite hundreds being freed early under Labour’s controversial release scheme, Alex Norris told peers the number having tags fitted before leaving prison gates was ‘not where we want it to be’.It came as peers on the Lords’ justice committee warned it means many potentially dangerous convicts were ‘disappearing into the ether’ without the public or victims being warned.Labour has put tagging front and centre of its early release scheme, saying it will help keep the public safe because it allows the authorities to monitor prisoners serving the remainder of their sentence in the community.But Tory peer Baroness Buscombe, a qualified barrister, pointed to a recent report which found many convicts are being given appointments to have tags fitted days or even weeks after walking free – only for probation officers to find some have absconded.Referring to a pilot scheme under which all convicts released on licence are tagged before leaving prison, she blasted: ‘I find it extraordinary that we’re carrying out a pilot scheme to try and fit all the tags before they leave prison. Justice Secretary Alex Norris told peers the number having tags fitted before leaving prison gates was ‘not where we want it to be’ Jake Sharp, 19, emerged from HMP Holme House grinning and making a gun salute gesture after being released from a sentence for domestic violence offences Among those celebrating outside Holme House was drug dealer Isa Salim, 19, who thanked Andy Burnham while carrying a bag containing a teddy bear made behind bars for his mother‘But why do we need a pilot scheme?‘What is happening to those people when they're wandering out of prison? Take foreign nationals who haven't got their deportation papers. Where do you think they're going?‘They're not going to some home and waiting to be tagged for a couple of weeks. They're going back into the home of organised crime.‘So could you please give us some confidence that this will not just be a pilot and that all people leaving prison on licence will be tagged?’Admitting that not enough were being tagged before being freed, Mr Norris replied: ‘The tagging order is only as good as if a tag goes on a leg. I totally accept that.‘Again, the performance is increasing in that space, but is not where we want it to be.’He acknowledged it was ‘much better’ to tag everyone released on licence before leaving prison and ‘that’s why we’re going to seek to do a lot more of it’.But Baroness Buscombe warned it meant many convicts were ‘disappearing into the ether’ and that the ‘public should be warned’.Electronic tags alert probation officers when prisoners have broken the terms of their release, such as being banned from certain geographical locations or abiding by curfews. Most being let out under the early release scheme will require tagging.A report by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation in September found almost half of electronic tags used to track offenders' movements are not fitted on time, with significant delays putting victims in England and Wales at risk.Only 55 per cent of GPS and radio frequency tags were fitted on time, with one in ten waiting as long as five months to be tagged. Electronic tags alert probation officers when prisoners have broken the terms of their release, such as being banned from certain geographical locations or abiding by curfews Tory peer Baroness Buscombe said it was 'extraordinary' that so many prisoners were being released without tags being fitted first as she quizzed the Justice Secretary It comes after some 650 prisoners were released yesterday in the third wave of Labour's early release scheme to tackle prison overcrowding.The offenders released had served as little as one-third of their sentences and included those convicted of affray, burglary, domestic abuse and stalking.Labour also freed 1,350 prisoners early in two waves last month.A total of some 4,500 criminals will be freed under the scheme, with the final tranche of the most serious offenders – who had been jailed for more than 12 years – freed on June 8 next year.