The Times are reporting that

Convicted rapists and burglars will be spared jail from next week after judges were told that the country’s prisons are full.

Crown court judges have been ordered to delay sentencing hearings, The Times has learnt, as the prison population has reached bursting point.

Lord Edis, the senior presiding judge for England and Wales, has ordered that sentencing of convicted criminals who are currently on bail should be delayed from Monday,

The Times also understands, from crown court judges who have been issued with the guidance, that as soon as next week some prisoners will also be released early under proposals from justice ministers.

In a meeting held remotely between Edis — a Court of Appeal judge who was promoted to the senior administrative position over the crown courts a year ago — and senior judges it emerged that cells in magistrates’ courts are to be used to hold suspects accused of the most serious crimes who are remanded in custody.

One senior crown court judge said that from Monday, judges have been “ordered/strongly encouraged” not to send to prison a defendant who appears before them on bail so as not to add to the prison population.

The judge said: “We have been told that this is a ‘short-term measure’, but nobody knows what that means.”

The judge added that the “biggest concern” was defendants charged with historic rape or rape of a child under 13 and other sexual assault, as even if convicted they are now likely to remain on bail.

“What am I going to do if a jury finds someone guilty [of rape],” asked the judge, adding: “Do I release that person who is now convicted back into the community, where the victim might see them? What will the victim think?”

Figures from the Ministry of Justice showed that as of last Friday, the prison population in England and Wales was 88,016, just a few hundred below what officials have said is the estate’s capacity of about 88,670.

Ministry officials published a report earlier this year that predicted that the prison population was set to rise to 94,400 by spring 2025 and more than 106,000 by 2027.

I suspect this is the sort of news that will be utterly toxic for the Tories and dent any recovery.

TSE