Sadiq Khan MP, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, commenting on today’s rise in prison numbers, said:

“This Tory-led Government’s incompetence has seen the space left in our prisons shrink to the lowest level since they took office in May 2010. With the system running at 99.6% of capacity, they are scratching around for every possible spare place to lock up serious and dangerous criminals. Yet, with the annual New Year spike in prison numbers some way off yet, David Cameron remains utterly silent on what will happen if the population keeps rising.

“Their own rules state that when the population gets beyond 99% of capacity, the emergency Operation Safeguard should be implemented. But ministers have so far refused to put the system on an emergency footing. Ministers burying their heads in the sand doesn’t reassure the public that the Government has a contingency plan in place that won’t put public safety at risk”