Sadiq Khan suggests prisoners ought to be given first selection of housing
Prisoners should ‘jump’ the housing queue in a bid to slash reoffending rates, Sadiq Khan has said.
The Labour Mayor of London, who has been accused of under-delivering on house building in the capital, sparked controversy after calling for an ‘honest conversation’ about rehoming released convicts.
He said ‘a certain percentage’ of prisoners should be prioritised despite rough sleeping hitting its highest level in London in a decade, with more than 1,100 people living on the city’s streets.
Mr Khan told an event hosted by The Times: ‘For us, the big challenge is there is no housing in London, a big shortage of housing in London.’
He said they needed ‘an honest conversation with our constituents about the reasons why people who have offended and come out of prison may need to jump in the queue to get housing to avoid them reoffending again’.
Sadiq Khan has sparked controversy by suggesting that prisoners should be able to ‘jump’ the housing queue in order to curb reoffending rates
Mr Khan’s comments came in the same week around 1,650 prisoners were released under the government’s scheme to free up space in the UK’s packed jails, amid fears that many convicts could end up homeless
Asked whether newly-released prisoners should ‘jump the queue’, the Mayor said: ‘A certain percentage. Yeah, it’s the honest conversation we’ve got to have with people across our respective cities to explain the reason we’re doing this.’
Last night, a spokesman for Mr Khan clarified that ‘London families in need must be prioritised for council homes’ but temporary accommodation should be found for prisoners ‘in a small number of cases’.
Tory leadership frontrunner Robert Jenrick said the suggestion showed Labour was ‘putting decent people last’.
Fellow contender Tom Tugendhat added: ‘Labour have released prisoners on to our streets. Sadiq Khan has given them priority for housing, while the Government have lowered the housing targets he keeps missing.
‘When does Keir Starmer plan to start serving the British people?’
Mr Khan’s comments came in the same week around 1,650 prisoners were released under the government’s scheme to free up space in the UK’s packed jails. But the move has prompted fears many convicts would be made homeless upon release.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said inmates who were homeless on release could be temporarily placed in taxpayer-funded hotels if there was not enough space in bail hostels and other forms of accommodation.
A rental property in east London. Mr Khan’s spokesperson clarified that temporary accommodation should be found for prisoners ‘in a small number of cases’ while London families in need must be prioritised for council homes
Rawling O’Grady was sentenced to three years in prison after being convicted of stealing a Mercedes. He walked free on Tuesday
The released also included one man (pictured above) from Burnley who said he was jailed for assault and had been given a seven-month prison sentence
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor said that the lack of housing for prisoners meant it was ‘inevitable’ that many inmates who were released on Tuesday would be recalled to jail.
According to the Prison Advice And Care Trust, ex-convicts are more likely to reoffend if released into homelessness as it is more difficult to claim benefits, secure employment and they are more likely to become addicted to drugs or alcohol.
A spokesman for Mr Khan said: ‘Sadiq is not suggesting prisoners should skip the queue for permanent housing – and clearly London families in need must be prioritised for council homes in the capital.
‘However, he believes that in a small number of cases where a former prisoner would be sleeping on the streets, they should be helped to find temporary accommodation in order to keep them from becoming homeless, prevent reoffending and keep Londoners safe.’
