Three murders have allegedly been committed by prisoners let out of jail early under emergency measures introduced by the Government to ease overcrowding.

The latest alleged murder took place earlier this month but was only disclosed to MPs on Monday night in a written parliamentary answer.

A 32-year-old man is in prison in the west Midlands after being charged with the murder of a man whose body was found in a flat earlier this month.

He had been released from jail nine days earlier under the end of custody licence scheme which allows prisoners serving less than four years for non-violent and sex crimes to be released 18 days early.

In another case, Darren Abrams, 20, of Portsmouth, was charged with the murder of Jed Sheridan at a house in Hampshire in October last year.

He was remanded to High Down prison in Surrey but was found hanged in his cell last December before he was tried for murder.

Abrams allegedly attacked Jed Sheridan after a night out drinking. He smashed a bottle over Mr Sheridan’s head before his co-accused Terry Sewell, 20, repeatedly kicked him in the head.

Terry Sewell was jailed for life in July at Winchester Crown Court and told he would serve a minimum of 13 years in prison.

The third case involved Andrew Mournian, 36, who battered his partner to death five days after being released early.

Mournian had been jailed for 20 weeks for an earlier attack on his partner, mother-of-two Amanda Murphy, 47, but was allowed to leave prison 18 days early in August 2007.

He killed her at their home in Westborough, Dewsbury, and then phoned 999 claiming she had hurt herself falling down the stairs.

He was found guilty of murder at Leeds Crown Court in December last year.

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