Jail system at breaking point again

Courts are being urged by the Government and senior judiciary to lock up fewer low-level offenders and to release more remand prisoners on electronic tags in an attempt to deal with overcrowding in jails.

The move comes as John Reid, the Home Secretary, looks for ways to ease pressure on a system that seems close to breaking-point. The prison population reached 80,000 in England and Wales this week for the second time, rising by more than 200 on Monday alone.