Shropshire's policing chief has called on the Government to reconsider plans to release prisoners early.

Thousands of prisoners are to be released earlier than planned as the Government attempts to avert the “collapse” of the prisons system.

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood warned on Friday that without immediate action to address overcrowding, prisons would run out of space within weeks – leading to “a total breakdown of law and order”.

But John Campion, the Conservative police and crime commissioner for West Mercia who also chairs West Mercia’s Local Criminal Justice Board, said the Government should "reevaluate" its decision.

“This announcement does not fix the fundamental issue," he said.

"The fact remains that a third of former prisoners commit another offence within twelve months of release.

“The system is stuck in a continuous cycle of offending and re-offending which is only going to speed-up by enabling prisoners to serve less of their sentence and effectively, undermining prison as a deterrent.

“What’s more, this has a human cost. Cutting time behind bars does not deliver justice for victims of crime who suffer a life-long sentence dealing with the harm caused to them.

"This impact extends to future victims, who will see their perpetrator walking free serving less than half of their sentence."

Echoing language used about supporters of appeasement in the 1930s, Ms Mahmood laid the blame for the prisons crisis with the previous government.

She said: “Those responsible – Sunak and his gang in Number 10 – should go down in history as the guilty men. The guilty men who put their political careers ahead of the safety and security of our country.

“It was the most disgraceful dereliction of duty I have ever known.”

But Mr Campion added: “In West Mercia, there are now record number of police officers which I will ensure continue to bring evermore offenders to justice – a key priority of the communities I serve.

"Therefore, it’s incumbent on any governing party to set-up the whole system to deliver victims the justice they deserve by delivering effective punishment.

“I recognise the Government has to act to address the current crisis, but it must also quickly set out its longer-term vision for fixing our criminal justice system.”