A three-year pilot will see mandatory polygraph examinations imposed on “high risk” offenders three months after release and every six months afterwards.

Polygraph exams, or lie detector tests, are notoriously unreliable and their results are not admissible as evidence in court, but they have been used in the management of sex offenders for over seven years.

The Home Office has highlighted research by the American Psychological Association (APA) which suggests that “single issue tests” like these are accurate 89 per cent of the time.

Offenders will not be jailed for failing a test, but can be jailed if they make disclosures revealing they have breached other licence conditions or that their risk has “escalated to a level where they can no longer be safely managed in the community”.

Those who attempt to “trick” the polygraph test or refuse to take it can also be recalled to custody.

Provisions in the Domestic Abuse Bill, which is currently being considered by MPs, will establish the legal basis for imposing the mandatory tests on high risk offenders.

If the pilot is successful, the mandatory polygraph examinations will be rolled out to all high-risk domestic abuse perpetrators in England and Wales.