Home Secretary Yvette Cooper says she has inherited UK prisons in crisis from the Tories, as ministers are reportedly deciding whether to free inmates after less than half of their sentence to ease pressure on cell space.Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is said to be expected to authorise emergency measures this week which could see criminals automatically freed after serving 40% of their sentence.Prison governors and union leaders warn jails could reach capacity if no further action is taken. As

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper says she has inherited UK prisons in crisis from the Tories, as ministers are reportedly deciding whether to free inmates after less than half of their sentence to ease pressure on cell space.Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is said to be expected to authorise emergency measures this week which could see criminals automatically freed after serving 40% of their sentence.Prison governors and union leaders warn jails could reach capacity if no further action is taken. As of Friday, the prison population stood at 87,453 with a "usable operational capacity" of 88,864, indicating 1,411 spaces are available, according to the latest available government figures.This does not include about 1,350 other cell spaces which are always kept free as a contingency measure.