How the new prison release scheme will work - and number of inmates to be freed

About 700 eligible offenders will leave jails in England and Wales on 1 October while some 2,550 are due to be released by the end of the year, under the government's early prison release plan. So why are so many people being let out of jail earlier than expected and how have they been chosen? Why are prisoners being released early? Quite simply, prisons are almost full - and not for the first time. As of last Friday, there were 87,499 people in 120 jails across England and Wales - with around 1,500 available beds.