Ignore guidance

The advice to judges and magistrates in England and Wales was given jointly by Mr Reid, the lord chancellor and the attorney general.

It prompted two senior judges to hold back from imposing custodial sentences on two sex offenders.

But some judges said they would ignore the guidance when handing down sentences.

Lord Phillips said the advice gave a "helpful summary of the present situation" and that this was "consistent with existing sentencing legislation and well-established sentencing principles".

"In this statement attention was drawn to the fact that prison population is currently running very close to capacity," he added.

"The home secretary has not sought to instruct judges to stop imposing sentences of imprisonment."

Established authority

The Lord Chief Justice said the statement carried the implication that ministers hoped judges would consider "whether there was an appropriate means of disposal that did not involve immediate custody".

"There is well and long established authority of the Court of Appeal that in such circumstances it is appropriate for the judge to have regard to prison overcrowding," he said.

"To this extent it is appropriate that, when imposing sentence, the judge should have regard to the present state of the prisons."

Mr Reid denied that he told judges to give criminals softer sentences to ease prison overcrowding, insisting serious offenders should still be locked up.

A Home Office spokesman said Lord Phillips had reiterated what the home secretary, the lord chancellor and the attorney general have said all along.

'No risk'

The Home Office has also come under fire for the failure by the Identity and Passport Service to enforce travel bans on convicted drug traffickers.

The service is still trying to trace 15 of the 147 traffickers who have left jail and may have gone abroad.

The government said there had been "no risk to public protection" and that most of those handed bans were in jail.

The Home Office said as it went through reform, "many historic" problems would come to light and be rectified.

'Incompetent'

Almost 100 of the prisoners freed under the scheme remain on the run after being recalled to jail, the figures show.

The "end-of-custody licence" programme applies only to those serving sentences of between four months and four years.

Shadow justice secretary Nick Herbert said: "This incompetent government is failing in its most basic duty to protect the public.

"They refused to provide the necessary jail places and now they have released over 31,500 prisoners early on to the streets in a single year, including thousands of violent offenders...

"This appalling policy should be scrapped immediately."

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman David Howarth said: "The government's obsession with sounding tough has led to a prison overcrowding crisis completely of its own making.

"In desperation they have released over 31,500 criminals early, yet our prisons remain full to bursting.

"Instead of releasing dangerous offenders early, ministers must look at more effective forms of sentencing, such as restorative justice."

The prison population has risen sharply since the end of 2007, and last month exceeded 83,000 for the first time.

In February, Justice Secretary Jack Straw called on magistrates courts to use more community punishments.

The government has promised to provide 2,500 extra prison places in 2008.

In a report into the jail, based on a visit last May, Ms Owers said its problems included two prisoners eating and living in a cell with an unscreened toilet no more than an arm's length away.

Self-harm

"A visit to the top landings of Brixton's old wings would quickly dispel any notion that our prisons are cushy," said Ms Owers.

"At the time of this inspection, those problems were exacerbated by the evident availability of drugs within the prison, undermining effective drug treatment and feeding violence and gang cultures."

Seven inmates had committed suicide since 2006 and there had been almost 50 incidents of self-harm in February and March 2008, she reported.

Five incidents were attempts by prisoners to hang themselves.

Despite the criticisms, Ms Owers praised a "new and energetic" management who were starting to put new systems in place.

Staff relations with prisoners were generally good and education had improved for the third of inmates who had classes, she said.

"There are things that can and must be managed better - in particular, the supply of drugs, which requires effective internal management and support from both police and prison security services.

"However, it is hard to see how Brixton, given its physical limitations, can be transformed into an effective local prison, offering both decency and rehabilitation to its 800 prisoners."

"Those responsible for offender management need to decide what role Brixton can and should play."

'Challenging environment'

Phil Wheatley, head of the National Offender Management Service for England and Wales, said: "Like many local prisons of a similar age and design, Brixton presents a challenging physical environment, but staff work extremely hard within these conditions to maintain cleanliness, and to provide as extensive a regime as possible.

"The last six months have seen efforts to control the level of drug availability in the prison rewarded, with improved security and search procedures producing a significant drop in positive drug tests.

"Brixton is working to target and disrupt negative behaviours in relation to gangs and violence."

But Juliet Lyon of the Prison Reform Trust said: "This [prison] is a recipe for disaster and a terrible misuse of public funds, producing as it does a conveyor belt of revolving-door prisoners.

"At a time when everyone is short of money, Brixton makes the case for a massive switch of funds from custody to effective community penalties."