Justice Secretary Alex Chalk has said ministers would change the law to allow prisoners sentenced in England and Wales to serve their terms overseas.

Chalk said legislation to allow for the transfer of prisoners to overseas jails would be included in next month’s King’s Speech.

Speaking last month, Andrea Albutt, president of the Prison Governors Association (PGA), warned it was “common sense” that the government would have to consider an early release scheme for thousands of prisons.

She said: “The fact is we’re overcrowded to the nth degree and there is no capacity left. Once we are full, we are full.”

She said: “We are reaching the critical point. The point of no return. In the adult male estate, there are only a few hundred spaces left, and that will be consumed in the next couple of weeks.”

A prison is classified as overcrowded if the number of prisoners held exceeds the Certified Normal Accommodation (CNA).

The CNA is set by the prison service and is the number of spots available for prisoners under a decent standard of accommodation.

The operational capacity is the absolute maximum number of prisoners that could fit into the prison.