The Papers: 'Laughing criminals let loose' and 'Return to the castle'

Spoiler warning: This press review reveals details from the first episode of The Celebrity Traitors, series two.

Inmates who have been released early from prisons in England and Wales are pictured on the front page of the Metro, on what the paper is calling "Get out of jail free day". It reports the first 700 of an expected 4,500 inmates eligible under the scheme were freed on Thursday.

The Daily Mail says Thursday's prisoner release is the first of 10 scheduled to take place, with the final slated for June 2027. It suggests that up to 50,000 offenders a year are likely to be freed early under Labour's "justice programme", adding that they will "get nastier every month".

Ministers are working up "sweeping plans" for welfare reform, the Guardian says, writing that a much larger package of changes is up for debate than previously thought. It reports that proposals include scrapping a key disability benefit for under-25s and replacing it with a multibillion-pound package of support to get into work. The paper warns that the move could be "fraught with political danger" after last year's "dramatic welfare rebellion" from Labour MPs. Friday's front page also includes a nod to the much-anticipated second series of The Celebrity Traitors, which aired its first episode on Thursday evening. The Guardian deems it a "four-star return to the castle".

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