The primary responsibility of any government is public safety

In the past we have drawn attention to the falling rate of rape convictions over the life of the Tory government

Latest figures suggest only a couple of percent of reported rapes end in convictions which in itself is shocking

But that is nothing when compared to the news this week that Lord Justice Edis, the senior presiding judge for England and Wales, has suggested that sentencing for rapists or burglars currently out on bail should be temporarily delayed because ministers have failed to build anywhere to put them . It’s meant to be a short-term measure, a temporary releasing of the pressure valve, but that won’t be much comfort for victims now hearing that their assailants will get to enjoy their freedom a little bit longer. “

Ministers have tried to distance themselves from the situation by saying sentencing is a judicial issue .

That completely ignores the point that it is their government that has continued to increase custodial sentences on all sorts of areas eg public protesters even though there is no evidence that longer sentences work in deterring many low level crimes as opposed to focussing resources on shorter sentences with great focused on rehabilitation

More importantly it is the government that allocates funds to build prison capacity and clearly they have failed in their duty to have sufficient spaces for the low tolerance regime they wish to run. As with so many other areas of public services the long term failure to invest is coming home to roost. 3 years ago when a certain Mr Sunak was Chancellor, the National Audit Office warned that without further major investment prisons would run out space in a few years. As with the recent issues on school concrete the Government chose not to act hoping the issue would go away!

It is distressing for victims to see jail time postponed, but equally importantly it raises doubts in peoples minds about how the legal system is functioning and whether criminals are to be given more lenient sentences simply because there is nowhere to put them