Search for prison escapee continues as police name inmate who jumped fence on early release day
WATCH NOW: Sophie Reaper recounts how inmate escaped from HMP Kirkham
GB NEWS
The search for a prisoner who escaped HMP Kirkham continues as Lancashire Police tonight identifies the inmate who jumped the fence on the same day that thousands of convicts were freed under an early release push.
Lancashire Police has tonight identified the 31-year-old prisoner who absconded.
The force, which confirmed its search remains ongoing, named Elliot Riley as the absconding inmate.
In a statement to GB News, Lancashire Police said: "We have been made aware that 31-year-old Elliot Riley absconded from HMP Kirkham on October 22, 2024. Enquiries are ongoing to locate him.
HMP KirkhamWIKIMEDIA COMMONS"Anyone with information is asked to call 101, quoting log 657 of October 22, 2024. For immediate sightings call 999."
GB News received an update from Lancashire Police yesterday which revealed the inmate, who was then unidentified, was still on the loose.
He escaped the Category D prison on Tuesday after climbing a barbed-wire-topped fence.
The inmate, who is now named as Riley, left HMP Kirkham in a waiting vehicle and was driven off at speed away from the premises.
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Sophie Reaper saw the incident take place GB News The Ministry of Justice has been "urgently working" with Lancashire Police to "recapture" the prisoner.
Reiterating its position, the MoJ tonight told GB News: “Absconds are rare, but those who break the rules face tough consequences including being moved to closed conditions and extra jail time.”
The escapee managed to get out of HMP Kirkham on the same day as Labour rolled out the second stage of its early release plan to cut overcrowding.
A staggering 1,100 inmates were released on October 22, joining 1,700 who were freed early on September 10.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced plans to cut the proportion of sentences served by inmates from 50 per cent to 40 per cent in July.
Labour initiated the second phase of the early release scheme on TuesdayPAThe decision was made after overcrowding in British jails pushed prisons to the "point of collapse".
After witnessing the inmate escaping HMP Kirkham on Tuesday, GB News reporter Sophie Reaper said: "In the last hour or so, we've seen one man leave this prison in perhaps more controversial circumstances.
"My cameraman and I were stood here waiting to do our for GB News, when I saw a man in all black.
"He appeared on top of the fence, which is covered with barbed wire. There was a black vehicle waiting just beneath. He jumped down, hopped in the car and it sped off out of the prison.
"Within a few minutes, an alarm had begun sounding here at HMP Kirkham and then the police vans and cars have started to arrive."
GB News has approached HMP Kirkham and the Ministry of Justice for further comment.
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