PRISONERS THANKED ANDY Burnham as they celebrated walking free from jail early.

The first wave of releases from UK prisons began today, with 700 criminals expected to be freed across the country.

One prisoner said to the press as he left HMP Durham in north-east England: “Justice system, what justice system? Thank you, Andy Burnham.”

Criminals were also seen celebrating as they left prisons in Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds, London, Salford and Wales.

A man leaving HMP Cardiff, who was asked if he had a message for the prime minister, said: “Thank you very much and don’t get me back here again, bro.”

Tom (32), who was released from the same prison after being jailed for burglary, admitted he will “probably be back in the next month or two”, adding: “I’d happily spend my time in there. I got nothing better to do with myself, I’m homeless.”

Dean, who emerged from HMP Forest Bank, said he was “buzzing” to be out early, despite only having another week or so to serve.

He told the Press Association: “There’s big people in there, they’ve got, like, years off.

“I’ve had to explain… people don’t even know who Andy Burnham was. I think he’s a really good Prime Minister. He’s getting things done. He doesn’t just give it all the talk.”

The inmates are among thousands the government says it has been forced to let out to free up space in overcrowded jails and stop the justice system from collapsing.

The number of prisoners behind bars in England and Wales has jumped by more than 1,700 in the past three months.

Former prime minister Keir Starmer and previous Tory administrations have presided over similar plans.

Nearly 5,000 prisoners are set to be freed in stages over the next year as the Sentencing Act 2026 comes into force.

Ministers intervened to exclude rapists and the most serious child sex offenders from early release following criticism of the policy over the summer.

The rules will also not apply to those guilty of manslaughter, such as the killers of Pc Andrew Harper who died in the line of duty in 2019.

People celebrate as they leave HMP Bristol in Horfield, north Bristol. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

But the law changes mean from now on, all eligible prisoners will spend less of their sentence behind bars. It has not proved popular with opposition parties, nor has it seemed to be welcomed by the public: just 15% of 12,000 people polled by The Times said they were in favour of the move.

Laila Cunningham, Reform UK’s candidate for mayor of London, told reporters outside HMP Wandsworth if she was Burnham she would “hang my head in shame”.

Conservative shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy said the public would “pay the price” for a policy he described as an “insult to victims”.

Victims commissioner Claire Waxman warned the government’s confidence in the plan “is not yet matched by the reality on the ground”.

Catherine Atkinson, Labour MP for Derby North and chairwoman of the Commons Justice Committee, said the releases were “regretfully a matter of necessity after more than a decade of policy failure to manage the estate’s long-running capacity issues”.

The safety of victims and the public “must be paramount”, she added.

According to officials, there is a presumption that all criminals freed early will be fitted with GPS tags.

The Ministry of Justice said some of the most serious offenders will now also face the “toughest supervision in British history” once released, with the introduction of tighter restrictions on where they can go.

People leaving HMP Durham in north east England. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

But former safeguarding minister Jess Phillips told Times Radio: “I expect there will be huge recalls to prison of domestic abusers.”

Domestic Abuse Commissioner Nicole Jacobs said the scheme had caused “untold damage” to victims’ confidence in the justice system, and it is “shameful” she has still not received assurances the danger perpetrators pose had been “properly considered and assessed”.

Charity Victim Support launched a national helpline for those concerned about prisoners being released early.

Sara Crane, vice-president of the Police Superintendents’ Association, also said it is “unacceptable” the financial cost of the plan will now fall “heavily on policing”, with forces, alongside probation staff, facing “increased demand” to monitor criminals and deal with prison recalls if they reoffend.

Justice Secretary Alex Norris said: “We understand the anxiety victims face ahead of offenders’ release dates, but the greatest danger to victims would be prisons running out of cells for dangerous criminals, which was the crisis this Government inherited.

“Our plan will make sure this never happens again by building 14,000 prison places while subjecting offenders to the toughest-ever controls, leaving them nowhere to hide and under no doubt that we are watching them.”

The first releases coincided with the Justice Secretary being sworn in as Lord Chancellor at a ceremony at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London on the first day of the new legal year, where he vowed to the most senior judges in England and Wales that he would be “ambitious” in his bid to cut the backlog of court cases.