Asked by: Robert Jenrick (Conservative - Newark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Sahayb Abu v Secretary of State for Justice [2025] EWHC 3026 (Admin), how much his Department has paid Mr Denny De SIlva in (a) damages, (b) other compensation, (c) ex gratia or out-of-court payments and (d) legal costs.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
I refer the Right Hon. Member to the Answer I gave on 17 November to Question 89422.
Asked by: Robert Jenrick (Conservative - Newark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been released on Fridays since the suspension of standing rules against the release of prisoners on Friday.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Offenders (Day of Release from Detention) Act 2023 was introduced in June 2023, enabling offenders who are at risk of reoffending to be released up to two days earlier, where a release date falls on a Friday or before a bank holiday. The Friday Releases scheme was brought into force on the 30 November 2023, introducing a presumption against releasing offenders on a Friday, therefore reducing risks linked to limited weekend services and helping keep the public safer by lowering reoffending risk.
There has been no suspension of the 'Friday Releases' policy since its introduction; it has continued to apply to standard determinate sentence (SDS) releases since its introduction. Therefore, we are unable to provide your requested information.
By removing barriers that a Friday release can create, we are maintaining public protection by ensuring offenders can better access the support they need to reintegrate into the community effectively.
Asked by: Robert Jenrick (Conservative - Newark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department intends to reinstate rules against the release of prisoners on Fridays.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Offenders (Day of Release from Detention) Act 2023 was introduced in June 2023, enabling offenders who are at risk of reoffending to be released up to two days earlier, where a release date falls on a Friday or before a bank holiday. The Friday Releases scheme was brought into force on the 30 November 2023, introducing a presumption against releasing offenders on a Friday, therefore reducing risks linked to limited weekend services and helping keep the public safer by lowering reoffending risk.
There has been no suspension of the 'Friday Releases' policy since its introduction; it has continued to apply to standard determinate sentence (SDS) releases since its introduction. Therefore, we are unable to provide your requested information.
By removing barriers that a Friday release can create, we are maintaining public protection by ensuring offenders can better access the support they need to reintegrate into the community effectively.
Asked by: Robert Jenrick (Conservative - Newark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, under what powers his Department waived rules against the release of prisoners on Friday.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Offenders (Day of Release from Detention) Act 2023 was introduced in June 2023, enabling offenders who are at risk of reoffending to be released up to two days earlier, where a release date falls on a Friday or before a bank holiday. The Friday Releases scheme was brought into force on the 30 November 2023, introducing a presumption against releasing offenders on a Friday, therefore reducing risks linked to limited weekend services and helping keep the public safer by lowering reoffending risk.
There has been no suspension of the 'Friday Releases' policy since its introduction; it has continued to apply to standard determinate sentence (SDS) releases since its introduction. Therefore, we are unable to provide your requested information.
By removing barriers that a Friday release can create, we are maintaining public protection by ensuring offenders can better access the support they need to reintegrate into the community effectively.
Asked by: Robert Jenrick (Conservative - Newark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department waived rules against the release of prisoners on Fridays.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Offenders (Day of Release from Detention) Act 2023 was introduced in June 2023, enabling offenders who are at risk of reoffending to be released up to two days earlier, where a release date falls on a Friday or before a bank holiday. The Friday Releases scheme was brought into force on the 30 November 2023, introducing a presumption against releasing offenders on a Friday, therefore reducing risks linked to limited weekend services and helping keep the public safer by lowering reoffending risk.
There has been no suspension of the 'Friday Releases' policy since its introduction; it has continued to apply to standard determinate sentence (SDS) releases since its introduction. Therefore, we are unable to provide your requested information.
By removing barriers that a Friday release can create, we are maintaining public protection by ensuring offenders can better access the support they need to reintegrate into the community effectively.
Asked by: Robert Jenrick (Conservative - Newark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been detained beyond their sentence since 1 April 2025; and whether he has made an estimate of the amount of compensation to be paid out in those cases.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Release inaccuracy is yet another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this Government. While the overwhelming majority of offenders are released correctly, we are clamping down on those errors that do occur, and this includes unlawful detentions.
On 11 November, the Deputy Prime Minister announced a five-point action plan setting out initial steps which includes strengthening release checks across prisons and an independent inquiry will report its recommendations to prevent further inaccuracies. The Government is determined to fix release inaccuracies and ensure the public is properly protected.
The data requested comes from internal management information and is not fully quality assured. We are therefore unable to answer this question within cost limits.
Asked by: Robert Jenrick (Conservative - Newark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many whole life orders were handed down by courts in England and Wales in each year between 2021 and 2025.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice publishes Accredited Official Statistics on sentencing outcomes including life sentences, in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, which can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.
These data are based on the Court Proceedings Database. However, it is not possible to separately identify life sentences that carry a whole life order. This information may be held within court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.
Asked by: Robert Jenrick (Conservative - Newark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to R (Denny De Silva) v Secretary of State for Justice [2025] EWHC 128 (Admin), how much his Department has paid Mr Denny De SIlva in (a) damages, (b) other compensation, (c) ex gratia or out-of-court payments and (d) legal costs.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
With reference to R (Denny De Silva) v Secretary of State for Justice [2025] EWHC 128 (Admin):
(a), (b), (c) The damages claim is ongoing and therefore we cannot comment on compensation, ex-gratia or out-of-court payments.
(d) Legal costs for the Judicial Review were settled at £255,000, inclusive of interest and assessment costs.
HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) successfully defends around two-thirds of all litigation cases brought by prisoners. Where damages are awarded to prisoners, we seek to ensure that payments are offset against any outstanding debts owed to victims and the courts.
Asked by: Robert Jenrick (Conservative - Newark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to R (Awale) v Secretary of State for Justice [2024] EWHC 2322 (Admin), how much his Department has paid Mr Fuad Awale in (a) damages, (b) other compensation, (c) any ex gratia or out-of-court payments and (d) legal costs.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
With reference to R (Awale) v Secretary of State for Justice [2024] EWHC 2322 (Admin):
(a), (b), (c) The damages claim is ongoing and therefore we cannot comment on compensation, ex-gratia or out-of-court payments.
(d) Legal costs for the Judicial Review were settled at £234,250, inclusive of interest and assessment costs.
HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) successfully defends around two-thirds of all litigation cases brought by prisoners. Where damages are awarded to prisoners, we seek to ensure that payments are offset against any outstanding debts owed to victims and the courts.
Asked by: Robert Jenrick (Conservative - Newark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners accidentally released since 1 April 2025 have a history of (a) violent and (b) sexual offending.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Releases in error have been increasing for several years and are another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this Government
While the overwhelming majority of offenders are released correctly, we are clamping down on those releases in error that do occur; on 11 November, the Deputy Prime Minister announced a five-point action plan setting out initial steps to address this issue. A joint protocol between HMPPS and NPCC is in place, to ensure effective and timely communication between partner agencies when an individual is released in error to rearrest them as quickly as possible.
Totals for releases in error are published each July in the HMPPS Annual Digest, available via HMPPS Annual Digest, April 2024 to March 2025 - GOV.UK, and provide data up to March 2025.
A further transparency ad hoc publication, available via Releases_in_Error_from_1_April_2025_to_31_October_2025.pdf, also cover the number of releases in error from 1 April 2025 to 31 October 2025.
The Government is determined to fix the issue of mistaken releases and ensure the public is properly protected.