Offenders could serve sentence in Estonian prisons to ease overcrowding

The government is not ruling out sending offenders to Estonia as a means of alleviating severe overcrowding on the UK prison estate.

Sky News understands that having offenders serve out their sentence in the Baltic state is one of many options being considered to address over-capacity on the prison estate - where there are thought to be just over 1,000 spaces left in prisons across England and Wales.

Since coming into office, Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, has warned overcrowding could lead to a breakdown in law and order if action is not taken to alleviate pressure on the system.

Last month, with the country still feeling the impact of the riots that took place in the wake of the Southport stabbings, spare spaces were understood to have been reduced to just 100 in male prisons across England and Wales - the closest the system has come to running out of capacity.

The government has already taken controversial steps to alleviate overcrowding, including by allowing the early release of prisoners who have served 40% of their sentence.

Prisoners in England and Wales, apart from the most serious offenders, are usually released on licence after serving 50% of their sentence - but from this month, this will be reduced to 40%.

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Magistrates were last month told to consider pushing back the sentencing of criminals because of concerns about overcrowding.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "The new government inherited a justice system in crisis, with prisons on the point of collapse.

"We will continue to investigate all viable options to increase the number of places in the prisons estate so we can keep locking up dangerous criminals and protect the public."

The idea of sending criminals on the British prison estate to Estonia was first floated by former justice secretary Alex Chalk.

He told last year's Conservative Party conference that the then government under Rishi Sunak would enter exploratory discussions with countries in Europe over the possibility of renting prison space abroad.

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The previous government said it would only enter into agreement with European countries provided aspects of the prison system, including facilities and rehabilitation, matched UK standards.

It argued its policy was in line with steps taken by Belgium and Norway, which have used foreign prison places in the Netherlands in the last decade.

In her first speech as justice secretary, Ms Mahmood blamed Mr Sunak "and his gang in Number 10" for being "too weak to heed the warning signs that were flashing".

More than 10,000 prisoners were released early under the previous government between October last year and June this year, leaked documents suggest.