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Measures taken during the Covid pandemic are to blame for criminals not being jailed, Steve Barclay has suggested.
All jury trials were suspended during the first national lockdown and the backlog continued to grow as a result of measures including social distancing.
Judges have now been advised that they should delay sentencing hearings for criminals, including rapists and thieves, and have been reminded to take overcrowding into account when deciding whether to jail offenders.
Asked about reporting on the guidance in the Times, Barclay, the Health Secretary, told Sky News: “It is a long-standing convention. [that] Ministers do not comment on the leaks and the Lord Chancellor will make a statement on the matter on Monday.
“The reason we have the fastest rollout of prison places in 100 years, the reason we have 100 new prison places every week is that we recognise, especially as jury trials have been suspended due to Covid, that we have a backlog . “These are not people in custody being released.”
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