The government's plan to convert unused space into prison cells will "possibly have a small amount of impact" says Nick Hardwick, former chair of the Parole Board and former chief inspector of prisons.

Hardwick tells Radio 4's Today programme that existing prison building plans are already "way behind schedule" so this "won’t be enough to hold back the inevitable crisis that will occur when the system runs out of space".

If a prison riot were to occur, or there was a national disturbance that required a sudden increase in the prison population, then "the system would collapse," Hardwick says.

"It is a very dangerous situation and it requires a significant, substantial response," he says.

Hardwick says that the government's announcement amounts to "a few hundred places, we need a few thousand".

Image source, PA Media

There have been various twists and turns in the government's new prisoner release scheme for England and Wales, after it was approved by Parliament in January 2026.

Some 6,000 criminals were due to be released earlier than planned, and the scheme was due to come into force from 2 September.

But on 22 July, PC Andrew Harper's mother, Debbie Adlam, called the scheme - which have seen two of her son's killers released after half their sentences, rather than two-thirds - an "insult".

She received a letter from the Ministry of Justice confirming the jail terms could be reduced for Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, who were sentenced to 13 years in custody for manslaughter in 2020.

A day later on 23 July, new PM Andy Burnham announced he was pausing the scheme for review.

On 3 August, the government then announced a revision to the scheme - that prisoners who committed rape, grooming, and serious child sex offences would be excluded.

But Adlam told BBC Newsnight she was "devastated" that the change still left Cole and Bowers eligible for early release.

On 4 August, Justice Secretary Alex Norris said the government was trying to avoid running out of prison spaces. "We would like to have gone further than that, but we cannot I'm afraid," he said.

But more change were still to come. On 30 August,Burnham told the BBC that PC Harper's killers would remain behind bars for two-thirds of their sentence, as initially planned.

He said anyone convicted of unlawful killing, including all forms of manslaughter, would be excluded from the scheme.

Shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy says he's "very concerned" about Prime Minister Andy Burnham's plans around indefinite sentences.

At the weekend, the PM said prison space would be found by releasing some inmates serving indefinite sentences, known as IPPs.

"In an attempt to try to stop the early release of one group of dangerous criminals, it seems that the PM's new plan is to release another set of dangerous criminals," Timothy tells BBC Breakfast.

Timothy says he welcomes "some of the exclusions" to the early release scheme, including those guilty of manslaughter, such as the killers of PC Harper.

But he says it's "not quite as simple" as deciding who to release to create more spaces, mentioning other issues such as fewer prison officers.

"We [the Conservatives] didn't build enough prison places," Timothy admits.

IPPs were given to some offenders in England and Wales between 2005 and 2012, where they were considered to pose a significant risk to the public. They are no longer handed out, but some people serving their sentences are still in prison.

Under IPPs, once a prisoner has served a minimum term, they can only be released once the Parole Board believe they no longer pose a risk to the public.

Image source, House of Commons

Unused office space, laundry rooms and storage areas will be converted into cells, as ministers look to create more room in existing prisons.

The Ministry of Justice says it will spend £110m on the work, using money which has been "fast-tracked from existing budgets".

Investment to create more prison spaces was announced as part of the government's 2025 spending review, which covered plans for the period from 2024‑25 to 2029‑30.

As part of this, it allocated a £7bn investment to create 14,000 prison places by 2031.

The £110m announced on Monday is not new cash, and is being drawn from money previously announced.

Image source, PA

Justice Secretary Alex Norris is expected to give MPs more detail on the government's early release plans in Parliament later on Tuesday.

The tightening of the scheme, aimed at tackling prison overcrowding, comes after Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced on Sunday that anyone convicted of unlawful killing - including manslaughter - would be excluded from the plans.

The decision was spurred in part by a campaign from the family and colleagues of PC Andrew Harper's to block the release of two men convicted of killing him in 2019.

Burnham said on Sunday that extra prison space would be found by releasing some inmates serving indefinite sentences - which prompted criticism from the Conservatives.

And this morning, the government set out a £110m plan to convert existing space in prisons into cells - we'll have more detail on that in our next post.

We're also expecting to hear from both Norris and the shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy when they speak to media this morning.

As well as Norris, Burnham is also due to address the Commons later today, his first time doing so as prime minister.

We'll bring you everything you need to know from Westminster throughout the day.