Cameron defends plan to jail fewer criminals

DAVID CAMERON yesterday defended proposals by British Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke to imprison fewer criminals and to issue more community sentences.

The British prime minister said the coalition government had been forced to take radical action to deal with the “complete mess” that Labour had made of the criminal justice system.

Defending the reforms at Prime Minister’s Question Time, Mr Cameron said 40% of prisoners released in Britain were back in jail within a year, while “more than half of them are on drugs”.