Sky News presenter Kay Burley confronted Conservative frontbencher Mel Stride on Tuesday over the Tory government’s role in the current prison overcrowding crisis.
In a tense interview, Burley challenged Stride, the shadow work and pensions secretary, as he criticised Labour’s decision to release some low-risk offenders early to ease pressure on the prison system, which is nearing capacity. The new government has said the early releases were necessary due to the overcrowding they inherited.
Burley quickly pointed out that the Conservatives had been in power for 14 years and had failed to address the growing issue. “This has happened because you were not dealing with prisoner overcrowding properly,” she said.
Stride attempted to defend his party’s record, pointing to tougher sentences introduced by the Conservatives, which he claimed increased the prison population. He also cited delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. However, Burley dismissed this explanation, pressing him on why the government hadn’t built more prisons during their 14 years in office.
“How did Covid stop you building prisons? It didn’t,” Burley said.
Stride tried to shift the conversation by attacking Labour for allegedly failing to notify enough victims about the release of offenders, but Burley swiftly brought the focus back to the Conservatives’ legacy. She reminded him that the Tory government had previously released 10,000 prisoners early to ease overcrowding between October 2022 and June 2023.
Burley continued to press the issue, highlighting the government’s long tenure and its missed opportunities to expand prison capacity. “You were already in power for 10 years by the time Covid came along. You could have built prisons before then. That’s the point,” she said.
Stride acknowledged the pressures on the prison system but struggled to provide a satisfactory response to Burley’s persistent questioning.
You can watch it below:
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