Prison sentences overhaul planned

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling says he wants to curtail the early release of prisoners in England and Wales for the most serious crimes.

Under rules created in 2003, most prisoners serving fixed-term sentences are eligible for release on a conditional licence into the community at the halfway point of their sentence, unless they have been guilty of poor behaviour in jail.

"I don't understand and I suspect the public don't understand... why someone for example with a ten-year sentence would be automatically released after five," he said.

"I don't want to see those people walking the streets until they are not a risk to the public, and I want the parole board to be decide whether they are released or not, I don't want a fixed date in the calendar where that's bound to happen."