The government has activated emergency measures to ease prison overcrowding as more rioters are being sentenced for their role in the recent unrest.

Across the north of England defendants waiting for a court appearance will be kept in police cells until prison space is available.

The system, known as Operation Early Dawn, was activated on Monday morning. It was previously used by the Conservative government in May.

The government said that its action to “tackle violent thuggery on our streets” has “exacerbated longstanding capacity issues in our prisons”.

Lord Timpson, the prisons minister, said: “We inherited a justice system in crisis and exposed to shocks. As a result, we have been forced into making difficult but necessary decisions to keep it operating.”

He said that the emergency measures will help “manage the pressure felt in some parts of the country”.

He added that anyone who poses a risk to the public “will not be bailed” and police’s ability to arrest criminals will not be impacted.

Nev Kemp of the National Police Chiefs’ Council said: “We are working closely with criminal justice system partners to manage demand in the system and ensure that the public are safe.

“Policing will continue to arrest anyone that they need to in order to keep the public safe, including policing protests and events and ensuring that people are arrested as expected.”