12 January 2023 , 18:29
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A judge has let a violent road rage thug walk free after warning that “prisons are full”.
Fabian Greco avoided being sent to jail despite punching and kicking a fellow lorry driver in a brutal attack.
The 29-year-old got into a row with another trucker after their vehicles almost collided at a junction of the M25 in Darenth, Kent.
Medway Magistrates' Court heard the other driver followed Greco to a nearby depot where they got into an argument.
Greco punched the fellow driver to the ground, before punching and kicking him while he lay on the floor.
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Labour said the Tories have cut more than 10,000 prison cells (Getty Images/Image Source)The judge gave him a suspended prison sentence, meaning he avoided going to jail, after warning there was no space left in Britain's jails.
District judge Stephen Leake told Greco: “Road rage is taken very seriously by the courts, but at the same time I note you have no previous convictions and there was no trial as you pleaded guilty, which meant the victim did not have to give evidence."
He added that "the prisons are full", before noting how ministers had been forced to request that police cells are made available as jails run out of space for new inmates.
The judge gave Greco an 18 weeks prison sentence, but said it would be suspended for 24 months because it was his very first offence and the lack of places in jail.
Labour accused the Tories of failing to provide an adequate number of prison cells so violent thugs can be put behind bars.
Shadow justice secretary Steve Reed said: “It is shocking that this Conservative Government has left dangerous criminals to roam our streets because they recklessly cut the number of cells, they should be locked up in.
“The Tories got rid of more than 10,000 prison cells since 2010, but [Justice Secretary] Dominic Raab couldn’t care less because after an avalanche of bullying allegations he is more focused on the fight to save his job than the fight against crime.
“Labour is the party of law and order and will stand up for victims.”
A Ministry of Justice spokesman last night said: "Prisons are not full."
The spokesman said ministers had only written to police chiefs to request cells were made available as part of contingency planning.
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