A man who is accused of sexually assaulting a woman within an hour of being let out of jail under Labour’s early release scheme was reportedly freed in error.
Amari Ward, 31, allegedly assaulted a female prison worker while he was being given a lift to a railway station in Sittingbourne in Kent earlier this month.
Following news of his arrest, it has emerged he was freed by mistake as part of the government scheme due to a system error, according to the BBC.
Ward, along with 37 other inmates who were also released early, were later found to be ineligible for the scheme because they had breached restraining orders.
He appeared at Croydon Magistrates’ Court on September 12 and is due to attend Maidstone Crown Court next month over the alleged incident. In the meantime, he has been recalled to prison.
It emerged last night that dozens of prisoners were incorrectly freed under Sir Keir Starmer’s early release scheme after a system error.
Sources from the Ministry of Justice said 37 inmates, all jailed for breaching restraining orders, were mistakenly freed – with five yet to be put back behind bars.
Stalkers and domestic abusers were among those accidentally released.
Whilst the 37 criminals had been excluded from the scheme, they were mistakenly let out as their offences had been logged under outdated legislation.
This is because people who breached restraining orders used to be charged and sentenced under the Protection for Harassment Act 1997.
However, this was later replaced by the Sentencing Act in 2020, meaning that some prison records were incorrect.
The criminals were therefore not flagged as being ineligible for the early release scheme.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: ‘Public safety is our first priority.
‘That is why we took decisive action to fix the broken prison system we inherited and keep the most dangerous offenders locked up. This included blocking the early release of domestic abuse offences such as stalking and controlling behaviour.
‘We are working with the police to urgently return a very small number of offenders – who were charged incorrectly and sentenced under repealed legislation – to custody.
‘The convictions remain valid with offenders monitored since their release and will soon be back behind bars.’
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman said last night: ‘Clearly public safety is always the Government’s first priority.
‘When the Government came into office we were facing a paralysis of the criminal justice system and the Government had to take action.
‘There were exemptions and safeguards put in place in relation to blocking the earlier release of offenders.
‘We’re working with the police urgently to return the people that you refer to who were sentenced using outdated legislation. They’ve all been monitored since their release so they will be brought back into prison.’
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced the plans back in July, saying that overcrowding had pushed jails to the ‘point of collapse’.
Downing Street said the policy had to be brought in to avoid ‘unchecked criminality’ where the police and courts are unable to lock anyone up.
The policy does not apply to those convicted of sex offences, terrorism, domestic abuse or some violent offences.
But campaigners and charities have warned that the scheme may come at the expense of women and children’s safety, while others raised concerns that it would push probation services to breaking point.