Barrow MP Simon Fell calls for prisoner Friday release changes

HMP Haverigg in Cumbria is near Simon Fell's parliamentary constituency

Releasing prisoners early if they are due to be let out on a Friday could help cut reoffending, MPs have heard.

A Private Member's Bill to allow inmates to leave up to 48 hours early, put forward by Barrow MP Simon Fell, has passed its first Commons vote.

Mr Fell said those released just before the weekend were "set up to fail".

The government has accepted a lack of time to access services before weekend closure is "increasing the likelihood they will commit further crimes".

Backed by both the government and Labour, the Offenders (Day of Release from Detention) Bill received an unopposed second reading on Friday and will now proceed for further scrutiny.

Scotland already operates the 48-hour early release system for some prisoners and Labour had previously suggested making a similar change in England and Wales.

Simon Fell said vulnerable prisoners faced a race against time

Conservative MP Mr Fell said: "Many people released from prison, especially those released on Fridays, are almost set up to fail from the moment they set foot off the prison estate.

"They face a race against time to access statutory and non-statutory services - to meet their probation officer, to visit a pharmacy or a GP, to sort out their accommodation, all on a Friday, with services closing early, with some being a distance away, or even impossible to reach by public transport."

Many end up homeless with no way of accessing services until Monday morning, with two-thirds of those without access to accommodation going on to reoffend within a year, he said.

Mr Fell stressed the proposal did not apply to dangerous or high-risk offenders, and eligible prisoners would have security screening.

Justice minister Damian Hinds said it would be a "simple change" but, if passed, a "landmark reform".