Oral Answers to Questions

Bradley Thomas Excerpts

Tuesday 10th November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Jake Richards]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this horrific case; I will meet him outside the Chamber to discuss it in more detail and see what we can do. This is all about sharing information between the family courts, the Home Office, border security and the Foreign Office. My hon. Friend the Victims Minister, the hon. Member for Pontypridd (Alex Davies-Jones), is responsible for the mutual recognition of orders across borders. This will be difficult in some types of countries, but we have to make progress on ensuring that protective orders carry weight across borders, because these cases often cross jurisdictions. I will meet my hon. Friend to discuss the specifics of this case, and I hope to assist in any way that I can.

[Bradley Thomas (Bromsgrove) (Con)]

4. How many prisoners released under the early release scheme have since been recalled to prison.

[Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

6. How many prisoners released under the early release scheme have since been recalled to prison.

--- Later in debate ---

[Bradley Thomas]

Offender management statistics show that, so far this year in England, there have been more licence recalls than prisoner releases. Will the Secretary of State acknowledge and admit that releasing criminals in order to recall them does nothing to address overcrowding or public safety?

[Alex Norris]

First of all, I would defend the principle that individuals who do not follow their licence conditions should be recalled to prison; that seems perfectly reasonable to me. The hon. Gentleman is right to highlight today that one in seven prisoners has been recalled. That is a sign that when our estate runs hot, we do not rehabilitate properly, and also a sign that significant licensing conditions have an impact.