Keir Starmer‘s early release scheme is leaving criminals sleeping on the street, as one claimed he would’ve rather stayed inside’ where it’s warm, he has a TV and three meals a day.

The controversial plan, concocted by justice secretary Shabana Mahmood, saw 1700 prisoners freed today in an attempted to ease prison overcrowding. 

But at the prison gates inmates were giving mixed reactions to finally tasting freedom, while some were doused in sparkling wine by mates waiting outside, others worried about where they were going to sleep that night. 

Leaving HMP Wandsworth, Jackie Creighton said he would rather remain in prison instead of being released as he will ‘end up on a bench tonight’.

‘If I was in charge, I would never have left homeless people out,’ he told LBC. ‘It’s bonkers. I’m going to end up on a bench tonight.

‘You feel happy you’re getting out but then the reality of it sinks in. In the end, you start thinking you might as well just stay here.

‘It’s not brilliant in there, I don’t want to make it sound like I want to be in there, then I come out, probably go and drink too much or whatever and end up back in with more offences. I’d rather have just sat there.’

He added: ‘I’ve just left a nice warm cell, a nice padmate, television, kettle and three square meals a day.’

Shabana Mahmood told the Commons that inmates who are homeless on release could be temporarily placed in taxpayer-funded budget hotels if there is not enough space in bail hostels and other community accommodation typically used for offenders.

A watchdog also warned it was ‘inevitable’ some of the 1,700 prisoners being released on Tuesday from jails across England and Wales would reoffend and end up back behind bars.

While another freeman, 36-year-old Shane Devlin told The Sun he had been released a month early after serving a year behind bars for actual bodily harm.

Despite his early release he questioned the scheme, arguing: ‘All they’re going to do is put the people from the riots in. They’re just going to empty it out and fill it up with new people.

‘Plus most people reoffend so they’ll be straight back in.’

The latest releases are in addition to the around 1,000 inmates normally freed each week.

Ms Mahmood announced plans in July to temporarily cut the proportion of sentences which inmates must serve behind bars from 50 per cent to 40 per cent as the Ministry of Justice said overcrowding had pushed jails to the ‘point of collapse’.

Telling MPs today that the scheme coming into force was the start of the ‘rescue effort’ for the justice system, she added: ‘I have authorised probation directors to make use of alternative arrangements including budget hotels as a temporary measure, for the cases that we will see in the next few weeks.’

Liam Fitzpatrick, 34, was released from HMS Wandsworth after serving 18 months of a three-year sentence for ‘a driving offence and fighting’. 

He said: ‘I’m happy to be out for this. I’m grateful to Starmer, I’m a lifelong Labour supporter. Out with the old, in with the new.

‘There’s been lots of happy people today. I’m Labour through and through.’

Ross Heathorn, 46, said he was heading straight to McDonald’s to celebrate his freedom. ‘It feels good to be free,’ he said. 

At Nottingham jail, a freed criminal in a grey tracksuit was soaked with bottles of £6.95 ‘I heart Bubbly’ after exiting the prison gates. 

More sparkling wine was sprayed in the air outside Wandsworth prison, south London, as a group of young men celebrated their friend’s release.

Cheers went up as the young man, named only as Daniel, left the Victorian jail and was quickly embraced by a woman before joining the rowdy group.

The friends, who arrived in a fleet of luxury cars including a black BMW, passed the hours in the lead-up to his release listening to music, smoking and laughing in what resembled a party atmosphere. They brought along two £17.99 bottles of Luc Belaire Luxe sparkling wine, which were shaken and sprayed as their friend exited the prison gate.

One offender released from HMP Wormwood Scrubs after serving 19 months of a three-and-a-half year sentence for drugs offences, said he was pleased to be out but added: ‘I don’t know if I agree with everybody being released early, especially for more serious crimes.’ 

Downing Street said the scenes of freed prisoners being sprayed with sparkling wine, cheered by friends and hailing Labour were ‘completely unacceptable.’

Asked about the celebrations, a spokesman told the Telegraph: ‘Absolutely – the situation is completely unacceptable. It is, however, the right thing to do to make sure we did not face a situation where criminality would be left unchecked on our streets because we didn’t have enough prison places.

‘So this was a difficult decision – but it was the right thing to do to protect public safety. We’ll be working closely with the criminal justice system, prisons probation and police to monitor this very carefully and ensure that they have the support they need to deliver this safely.’

Downing Street also said the policy had to be brought in to avoid ‘unchecked criminality’ where the police and courts are unable to lock anyone up because there are no free cells.

MoJ figures showed the prison population hit a record high of 88,521 on Friday, having risen by more than 1,000 inmates over the past four weeks.

Meanwhile it emerged Rishi Sunak ignored calls from Britain’s most senior police officers a week before the election warning him that failure to trigger the so-called SDS40 policy would be exploited by criminals.

A letter obtained by The Times dated June 27, signed by figures including Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley and the chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council Gavin Stephens, said the overcrowding crisis in prisons was hampering police officers’ ability to do their job as they urged the then prime minister to put the plan in motion immediately because it would take ‘many weeks to safely implement’.

Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor said the Government ‘had no choice but to do something’ about overcrowding because ‘the bath was in danger of overflowing, and they either had to turn the taps off or they had to let some water out’.

But he warned it was ‘inevitable that some of these prisoners will get recalled to custody’ and that some will be homeless on release – increasing the risk that they could go on to commit more crimes.

At HMP Manchester, formerly Strangeways, luxury cars cruised the streets as relatives waited for prisoners to be released. A Mercedes SUV and Land Rover greeted one offender who changed from a tracksuit into a new set of clothes.

Groups of inmates were also seen walking out of Brixton, Durham and Liverpool jails.