Thousands of prison cells lie empty - as Labour releases criminals early to tackle overcrowding

By SAM MERRIMAN, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT and MARTIN BECKFORD, POLICY EDITOR Published: 23:23, 14 August 2026 | Updated: 23:23, 14 August 2026 Thousands of prison cells are lying empty even though Labour is releasing criminals early to tackle overcrowding. Up to 1,800 places behind bars cannot be filled because of a pledge to install fire safety systems known as Automatic Fire Detection. Hundreds more remain unusable, including large Victorian wings of HMP Birmingham, after construction firm ISG and sister firm ESS collapsed in 2024 while carrying out repairs. An entire jail - HMP Dartmoor - also remains mothballed with 640 cells empty after unsafe levels of the natural gas radon were discovered in 2024.  There is currently no timeline for it to reopen but taxpayers are still paying millions to lease the site from the Duchy of Cornwall. Latest official figures show 4,024 places are currently unavailable across jails in England and Wales because they are ‘damaged’ or ‘affected by building works’ although the Ministry of Justice insists extra space can be found by doubling up cells. Critics say if these cells were brought back into use then ministers would not have to free up space by releasing 5,000 inmates after serving just a third of their sentences. HMP Dartmoor - also remains mothballed with 640 cells empty after unsafe levels of the natural gas radon were discovered in 2024 Andy Burnham has already intervened to stop rapists being allowed to walk free early and is now scrambling to stop the killers of PC Andrew Harper being let out too, by considering radical measures such as putting men in women’s jails. Mark Fairhurst, National Chair of the Prison Officers’ Association (POA), said the number of unavailable places is a ‘damning indictment of the state of the prison estate’. ‘At a time when the Government is relying on early release to manage overcrowding, having thousands of cells sitting empty because of damage, maintenance and construction delays is simply unacceptable,’ he told the Daily Mail. ‘What is particularly frustrating for prison officers is that those at the frontline are expected to deal with the consequences of these failures, while I have little confidence that anyone at senior level will be held accountable. Despite repeated evidence of incompetence and poor decision-making, it is difficult to see any heads rolling at the senior levels responsible.’ Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy accused Labour of being ‘consistently dishonest about the number of prison cells that are in fact available for use’ and had ‘conjured 1,000 places they told us didn’t exist to exclude rapists from early release’. He told the Daily Mail: ‘Labour must do whatever is necessary stop the early release of killers, rapists, paedophiles and domestic abusers - whether it’s using cells that are currently lying empty, urgently bringing them up to safety standards where required, or putting two prisoners to a room. Nothing could be worse than their current plan. ‘Labour must revoke the commencement order that will start the early release of offenders, and bring forward emergency legislation on day one to exclude dangerous criminals.’