Speaking to LBC on Monday, August 31, Jason Hogg, Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police, warned that monitoring offenders released under the Government’s early release scheme would be “difficult” for forces across the county without additional funding.

The scheme aims to ease overcrowding in prisons by releasing certain inmates ahead of schedule.

Mr Hogg said: “The police haven’t received any additional funding for this additional work, so I’m going to be having to move resources away from one area of business to another to seek out, arrest, and bring before the court individuals who don’t follow the restrictions that they will be set.

“For example, their tagging restrictions. We don’t quite know what the demand will be on that, but I think it’ll be reasonably high, so it’s definitely more work for us.”

The early release scheme, introduced to address rising prison populations, initially included up to 6,000 inmates.

Following public outcry, the Government reduced that number to 5,000 and exempted rapists, “serious” child sex offenders, and other high-risk individuals.

PC Andrew Harper (Image: PA)

The death of Thames Valley Police officer Andrew Harper brought renewed attention to the policy.

His killers, Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, were initially eligible for early release from next year, but fresh changes announced on Sunday (August 30) mean anyone convicted of unlawful killing, including all forms of manslaughter, members of grooming gangs and death by dangerous driving, will be excluded.

Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers (Image: PA)

Mr Hogg said the announcement came as a “relief”. He said: “It will be welcomed not just by me but by police officers in Thames Valley as well, because there’s been such a strength of feeling about this issue.”

To create more space in the prison system, Mr Burnham said the Government would focus on deporting foreign prisoners and releasing inmates who are serving imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentences.

These sentences, which were abolished in 2012, were given to offenders deemed to pose a significant risk to the public.

However, the Prime Minister cautioned that changes to IPP sentences would require a “very careful” approach, as some individuals may still present a danger.

He also confirmed that reforms to IPP releases would take years to implement and would not be part of the immediate measures to relieve overcrowding.

Ministry of Justice data shows that as of June 30, 856 IPP prisoners remained in custody, with another 1,415 recalled to prison after release.

On Monday, justice minister Alex Davies-Jones insisted that “release does not mean freedom” for those let out under the early release scheme.

She also told BBC Breakfast: “When these offenders come out of prison, the presumption will be that they will all be placed on a GPS monitoring tag.

“We’re introducing for the first time ever a world first restriction zone to limit the freedom and location that the offender can go, and we are also banning them from things like pubs, concert public spaces, taking away their driver’s licence, mandatory work placements.

All of this being carried out to ensure that the victims are put front and centre, that they do have consideration, because previously they weren’t considered.”

The former Top Gear star, 56, said he believes there is still a place for motoring shows and would welcome a return of Top Gear, amid rumours comedian Jimmy Carr could be involved in a reboot.

Speaking to the Metro, Mr Hammond reflected on the enduring popularity of the BBC programme, which he fronted alongside Jeremy Clarkson and James May.

He said: “I think there’s room for car shows looking back at what a wonderful machine the car has been and will continue to be.”

Mr Hammond also backed the future of The Grand Tour, which he presented with Clarkson and May after leaving Top Gear.

The trio are set to make a cameo appearance alongside the show’s new presenting team of James Engelsman, Thomas Holland and Francis Bourgeois.

He said: “We had our time with it. That’s great. That was our Grand Tour, but The Grand Tour can go on with other people doing it, and I wish them all the very best with it. Of course, I do.”

Looking beyond The Grand Tour, Mr Hammond said he would even consider returning to another of his former programmes, Total Wipeout, if given the chance, exclaiming he “loved it”.

Reflecting on Top Gear’s legacy, Mr Hammond said: “It’s really satisfying to have been part of a show that had that effect, that becomes that touchpoint for people.

“We never thought for a second that it would. We set out to make a car show all those years ago.

“It just grew into something that nobody foresaw, and I was really privileged to be a little part of that.”

He added that meeting fans who grew up watching the show makes him proud.

“It makes me mostly proud when people refer to it or come up to me and say they’ve watched it since they were a kid,” he said.

“It makes me feel old because often they’re fully fledged adults in their own right. But there we are.”

During the interview, Mr Hammond also spoke about his daughter Izzy Hammond’s crash in a Formula E car earlier this year.

The 25-year-old crashed into a wall at the Jeddah circuit but walked away unharmed.

The incident drew comparisons with Mr Hammond’s own near-fatal 2006 crash while filming Top Gear, when he crashed a jet-powered dragster at almost 300mph.

He admitted he felt “a little uncomfortable” watching from the sidelines.

“I’m a father, like any other father. I don’t want to see my little girl hurt, but I don’t want to hold her back from opportunities that present themselves,” he said.

“She’s carving her own career, so I can sit back and watch her do that and only applaud.”