evidence: The government has defended the early release of prisoners after it emerged a former inmate allegedly sexually assaulted a woman on the same day he was freed. [...] The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said the early release scheme was necessary because it had "inherited prisons in crisis and on the brink of collapse". Reoffenders would be punished, it added. [...] Some officials had previously warned that a percentage of those released were likely to reoffend. Earlier this month, Martin Jones, HM chief inspector of probation, said he thought there was "a certainty that some will reoffend".