Labour's decision to release almost 2,000 prisoners early has been defended by the General Secretary of the Prison Officers Association, claiming the decision was "inevitable".
Around 1,700 inmates were released across the country in a move to tackle overcrowding in Britain's prisons.
Victims' Commissioner Baroness Newlove declared the move is "regrettable" and "distressing", particularly for victims who are unaware of the release.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has also announced that inmates who are homeless upon release will be housed in tax-payer funded hotels.
General Secretary of the Prison Officers Association Steve Gillan said the early release of prisoners was 'inevitable'
GB News / PA
Speaking to GB News, Prison Officers Association chief Steve Gillan admitted that "whoever the incoming Government was" following July's General Election, they would have faced the "inevitable" and "difficult" decision surrounding the prison crisis.
Gillan explained: "Whoever was the Government that was elected in July would have had to make some really difficult choices. I don't think any Government, whether it's Conservative or Labour, would want to do this willingly.
"As far as I'm concerned, victims should always come first. But our prisons are full, the criminal justice system is collapsing, and the last 14 years of Tory rule has undoubtedly been a total disaster."
Detailing the sheer "crisis" facing the UK's prison system, Gillan called for a "royal commission" and "branch review" of the processes to help fix the enormous backlog.
Over 1,000 prisoners were released from prison today in the latest move by Labour to free up spaces
PA
Gillan told GB News: "We've got backlogs in the magistrates courts of some 300,000 cases. We've got backlogs in the Crown courts of 60,000.
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"I will always put victims above anything else, quite frankly, but this was inevitable, it was going to happen. We're heading for a crisis, and we need to have a root and branch review a royal commission into what it is we want from our criminal justice system and prisons in general."
When asked by host Martin Daubney if the way out of the prisons crisis is to "build more jails", Gillan disagreed, declaring that the Government "can't build their way out of the crisis".
Gillan responded: "I don't think you can build your way out of this crisis. I think what we need is to have a thorough, urgent debate.
"One which allows community sentences to be used a lot better to keep petty offenders out of jail, and the mentally ill diverted away from prison in the first place."
Steve Gillan warned that the way out of the prison space crisis 'can't be built'
GB News
Hitting out at the Conservatives, Gillan admitted he "doesn't apologise" for "blaming the Tories" for impacting the prison spaces in the first place.
Gillan fumed: "I make no apology for blaming the Conservatives, because austerity measures that they chose to do, robbing effectively the prison service, starving of money, investment and different things has partially led to this crisis.
"I think we lock up more people in this country, in England and Wales than anywhere else in Europe. But the reality is, the Government has to do something.
"And I don't say this lightly, there will be people that reoffend, there's no doubt about that in my mind. So I have got a concern and I'm sure victims of crime charity groups and others will be watching this situation very carefully."
