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Andy Burnham's plans to tackle the overcrowding crisis in prisons have been branded 'troubling' by Cherie Blair as she warned of a threat to women.
Lady Blair, a leading barrister and the wife of former prime minister Sir Tony Blair, criticised proposals floated by Mr Burnham to house some male prisoners in women's jails.
As part of a U-turn on Labour's early release scheme, Mr Burnham has ordered Justice Secretary Alex Norris to find 'more headroom within the prison system'.
The Prime Minister ordered a rethink of existing plans to release thousands of prisoners early following outrage over two of PC Andrew Harper's killers being freed.
Mr Burnham said finding more space in men's prisons would, among other measures, include making greater use of female jails for male offenders.
Men's prisons are 98 per cent full with just 1,783 spare places while women's prisons are at 91 per cent capacity, according to latest figures from the Ministry of Justice.
In a letter to The Times, Lady Blair said Mr Burnham risks 'solving the crisis in men's prisons at the expense of women'.
She warned against female offenders being 'collateral damage' in the Government's efforts to solve the prisons overcrowding crisis.
Andy Burnham's plans to tackle the prisons overcrowding crisis have been branded 'troubling' by Cherie Blair as she warned of a threat to women
Lady Blair, a leading barrister and the wife of former prime minister Sir Tony Blair , criticised proposals floated by Mr Burnham to house some male prisoners in women's jails
Lady Blair wrote: 'As a member of the leadership board of the charity Women in Prison, I strongly support reducing the number of women in prison.
'However, the recent proposals are troubling. Closing women's prisons would inevitably mean women being moved further from their children and families.
'When Holloway closed its doors in 2016, women were dispersed away from their support networks.
'The proposal to accommodate men within women's prisons is even more troubling. A high proportion of women in the criminal justice system have experienced domestic abuse, sexual violence, coercion or other forms of male violence.
'Housing in women's prisons risks retraumatising victims of male violence.'
Lady Blair said 'a better way to relieve the pressure on prisons' would be to 'stop imprisoning so many women'.
She added: 'That means investing in women's centres, community sentences, housing, mental-health provision and services for victims of abuse.
'Women leaving prison also need proper resettlement support, not hurried release into homelessness or back into abusive relationships.
'The prison overcrowding crisis is real. But women make up only a tiny fraction of the prison population.
'Their prisons, family relationships and, above all, sense of safety should not become collateral damage in solving this crisis.'
Mr Burnham announced a review of the Government's early release plans shortly after taking office in the wake of a public outcry about the potential release of Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers.
They were each handed 13 years in custody for manslaughter after a trial into PC Harper's death at the Old Bailey in 2020.
Under existing plans, the pair are set to be freed in January – just half-way through their sentences – as part of Government efforts to tackle overcrowding in jails.
The Prime Minister's initial review resulted in changes to prevent rapists and paedophiles being released early but there was nothing to change the status of PC Harper's killers.
At the time, Mr Burnham said he had gone as far as he could. However, after returning from his summer holiday, the PM last week performed a U-turn and said further action can be taken.
He said he is 'increasingly confident' that further changes can be made to Labour's early release scheme to keep Cole and Bowers behind bars.
Mr Burnham has said Mr Norris will present a 'much better solution' to the prisons overcrowding crisis on September 1 when the House of Commons returns from its six-week summer break.