Melindy Brown, a criminology lecturer at Birmingham City University, has recommended prisons in England and Wales follow the lead of Northern Ireland in temporarily freeing certain prisoners.

Among them would be those currently on remand and awaiting trial or sentencing, as well as serving prisoners who have as little as three months left of their sentences, she advised.

But she added that the release of prisoners could be seen as controversial by the general public.

The Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody (IAPDC), Amnesty International and the Prison Officers’ Association are among those who have also called for a reduction in prison numbers.

A total of 55 UK prisoners had tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday, while 3,500 employees – a 10th of the workforce – are currently off self-isolating.

Ms Brown said that as a category B prison with a high number of inmates, HMP Birmingham would be experiencing this crisis “in the worst way”.

She also clarified that she doesn’t believe prisoners charged or convicted with the most serious categories of crime such as murder, rape or manslaughter should be released early.

She said: “The vast majority of prisons in England and Wales were overcrowded prior to issues exacerbated by coronavirus. We have individuals sharing cells designed for one person, heightening the chances of potential spread.

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“If someone has gone to prison, from a societal perspective, there is this idea they definitely committed the crime. We do know there is some miscarriage of justice.

“We have a lot of people in prison who are serving short term sentences for crimes that if they were given a community sentence, they would be less likely to re-offend.

“We do have a lot of people going into prison with short term sentences, meaning they have committed non-violent crimes.

“If you think about women, a lot go to prison for theft and burglary, but not violent offences where someone has been hurt.

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“I am also thinking of drug offences as well. You can have a prison sentence for things such as possession – crimes that don’t necessarily impact on another person in a violent way.

“I would suggest we be looking into releasing prisoners who are currently on remand – waiting for a conviction or waiting for a sentence. They don’t know if they are going to be found guilty in the long run for an offence.

“We could look at people who may be released in three months’ time. What is three months if we are dealing with health issues here?

“We need to look at what the impact is on prisoners who are pregnant or elderly. I’m not saying we release them automatically. Are there alternative places we could move them to?

“I am not suggesting releasing everyone because of the impact that would have on other services, such as the National Probation Service and charities.”