The prison system came close to collapsing numerous times between autumn 2023 and summer 2024, an independent review has found.

The report by former chief inspector of prisons Dame Anne Owens was published on Tuesday, and told of systematic problems which led to recurring crises relating to prison capacity over the last 18 years.

Owens underlined the urgent need for senior staff to move from crisis management to a more strategic approach in the justice system.

She also reiterated the importance in having adequate capacity in probation and other community services, which the report says are critical in the prevention of offending and reoffending.

The report also laid out the financial costs of the crisis.

Holding prisoners in police cells has reached a cost of over £70million.

Meanwhile, the cost of construction for new prisons nearly doubled to £10.1billion.

Owers said: "The scale, likelihood, risks, and consequences of the prison capacity crisis could not have been signalled more clearly, at every level of government.

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"The response was last-minute short-term fixes rather than long-term solutions to the underlying problems."

She also added that the crises, which "seriously affected prisons' ability to work effectively and safely", had spanned several successive governments.

According to the report, former ministers and officials interviewed by Owers "expressed frustration and sometimes anger" at the failure to create a plan to avert crises.

Owers said: "Many believed that the default position was to do as little as possible as late as possible, with the consequence that the system repeatedly reached the bring of collapse."

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Suggestions within the report included investing money into community provisions in order to reduce offending and reoffending, rather than only investing in the prisons themselves.

Implementing a 10-year plan for capacity in probation and community services, as well as introducing an independent body to provide advice and check the plans of prison and probation services were also recommendations made.

Finally, Owers recommended getting an evaluation of the Prison Service by the HM Prison and Probation Service Board.

Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood, who commissioned the report in February, said: "This report lays bare the disgraceful way the last Conservative government ran our prisons.

"They added less than 500 cells to the prison estate over 14 years, released over 10,000 prisoners early under a veil of secrecy, and brough our jails close to total collapse on countless occasions."

Mahmood claimed the Labour Government had opened 2,400 new cells since coming into office, and was on track to open 14,000 by 2031.

In May, it was announced that prisoners were to be released after serving just one third of their sentence under Labour plans to battle the overcrowding crisis.

Under the plans, well-behaved offenders are able to earn their freedom by completing work, training or education.