At the same time, James Timpson was being appointed as Minister for Prisons. James had put his money where his mouth was by employing thousands of ex-prisoners in his family business, with excellent results. All of these have the potential to significantly reduce pressure on prison numbers, while removing the drivers of repeat offending. James Timpson spent two years seeking initiatives that would have a significant impact on reoffending rates, and therefore the number of people returning to prison. Subscribe here to our daily newsletter roundup of Labour news, analysis and comment– and follow us on TikTok, Bluesky, WhatsApp, X and Facebook.