Bradford MP and Home Office Minister Gerry Sutcliffe has revealed that more inmates will be transferred to open jails as prison overcrowding reaches crisis point.

But he stressed that no violent or sexual offenders would be considered for re-categorisation.

Mr Sutcliffe, who is responsible for prisons, said the prison population had increased by 47 per cent since Labour came to power in 1997.

He said: "The increase is down to the fact that the most dangerous and persistent offenders are getting longer sentences"

Mr Sutcliffe said the Government wanted to create an additional 9,000 places by a series of measures including moving low-risk' inmates to open jails.

Mr Sutcliffe has been personally tasked with devising ways to create an additional 1,000 places. Home Secretary, John Reid, has also considered options such as deporting some of the 10,000 foreign prisoners serving sentences in England and Wales.

Mr Sutcliffe said: "We are looking at all the options and our primary concern is of course public safety." He said other considerations included the re-categorisation of offenders but he stressed that Mr Reid was against early release.

Mr Sutcliffe said: "We are looking at the re-categorisation of prisoners as one method of assisting us with the serious problem we have with over crowding. Prisoners re-categorised will pose no threat to the public and we will only consider re-categorisation for non-sexual and non-violent offenders."

The crisis came to a head on Friday when the prison population in England and Wales hit an all-time high of 79,843 - in theory, leaving just 125 spare places for new inmates.

The Home Office was expected to release the latest updated figures today.

A plan to hold inmates in police cells, known as Operation Safeguard, was last used in 2002 but officials are reluctant to resort to the measure if it can be avoided.

Using police cells cost the service more than £360 per prisoner per night the last time they were used.

Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said the crisis was the result of Government failure to invest in prisons sooner.

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Nick Clegg said: "It beggars belief that John Reid is resorting to such panic measures."

e-mail: jennifer.sugden@bradford.newsquest.co.uk