Labour consider plan to release prisoners after 40% of sentence served

Proposal is one of several being looked at by Ministry of Justice to address the acute' prison crisis

Labour is considering plans to release offenders after they serve just 40% of their sentence in a bid to tackle prison overcrowding, the Guardian has been told.

While the proposed plan - first reported by the Daily Telegraph - is just one of several options that the Ministry of Justice is weighing, prison overcrowding has emerged as one of the most urgent issues facing the new government, with governors warning that the prison estate in England and Wales will be effectively full within the next week or so.