"Of course, we wanted to do more. "Those are very, very difficult conversations because, quite rightly, families are really upset about it and they feel that they're carrying the can for previous failures, and they're right. "Talking about the early release scheme's exemptions, he added: "We wanted to go further. "The Prison Governors' Association (PGA) has criticised the late change to the policy, saying it had put "huge pressure" on prison staff, making mistakes "more likely".Asked about the potential impact of the exemptions, he said: "We've modelled it very carefully. I'm grateful for prison staff and indeed probation staff, who've been very patient during this pause because this has got a real day-to-day impact.