Prime Minister Andy Burnham has changed the incoming early release scheme for some prisoners in England and Wales amid huge political and public pressure to rethink the scheme. His decision to exclude rapists and some other offenders from the plans comes after the widow of PC Andrew Harper described two of his three killers being freed earlier than had been expected as "deplorable". Under the new Sentencing Act, set to come into force in September, some 6,000 criminals had been due to be released at varying stages - the aim being to ease overcrowding that has caused chaos across prisons and the courts.
Earlier this year Parliament voted through the Sentencing Act 2026 to radically reform the rules governing the sentencing and management of prisoners. This was part of Sir Keir Starmer's government's plan to tackle the unprecedented crisis of overcrowded jails it had inherited: quite simply, if the prisons ran out of cells - as was nearly the case in late 2024 - the police and courts would be unable to lock up newly caught criminals. Police would not be able to charge suspects.
Trials would have to be stopped. Judges would not be able to sentence criminals to years in prison. It would be unprecedented in modern Britain.
One part of the plan means many jailed offenders on fixed terms will leave prison after serving just a third of their term behind bars, rather than at the halfway point which has long been the law. Leaving prison does not mean they are free: release on licence includes strict conditions and often an electric tag or curfews to monitor whereabouts - although recent figures show thousands of people required to have a tag did not have one. The plan had been that from 2 September, the first prisoners to benefit from the scheme were those serving up to 19 months.
Offenders serving longer fixed-term sentences would become eligible for the scheme month-by-month. That roll-out has now been delayed. Burnham says the scheme should exclude rapists, serious sexual offenders against children and those guilty of grooming gang related crimes.
There will be a "presumption" that all offenders are tagged. So that means that prison governors and probation officers must put plans on ice - and start rethinking who gets out and when. This is where it gets really complicated.
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