Following widespread riots caused by the Southport attack in July, the number of criminals jailed in England and Wales reached a record high of 88,350. This might mean that British convicts could be sent to Estonia.

According to Liisa Pakosta, Estonia's minister of justice, there is ample space in Estonian prisons for rented cells in case Britain needs assistance handling the situation. It comes after requests to judges not to imprison individuals for minor offences; instead, some have been scheduled for early release in an effort to alleviate the prison overcrowding issue in Britain.

According to Ms Pakosta, the scheme could be worth £25 million to Estonia, with both Britain and Sweden reportedly already in talks to send prisoners over to the Baltic nation.

She said: “Half of the spaces are empty. And it is true that I've submitted a memo to the government cabinet for discussion, to choose the direction of the solution with which to proceed.”