A senior police officer has warned that Labour's early prisoner release scheme, intended to ease overcrowding in jails, will force cuts to neighbourhood policing and cost forces hundreds of millions of pounds. The intervention comes as Prime Minister Andy Burnham faces mounting pressure over the policy, having already delayed its planned September start pending an "urgent review" with Justice Secretary Alex Norris.

Under the new Sentencing Act, roughly 6,000 offenders were due to be freed early under the scheme, but the plan has proved highly contentious following public outrage that the killers of PC Andrew Harper could be released after serving only half their custodial sentences. Assistant Chief Constable Jason Devonport said that whatever the review concludes, policing would be affected, underlining warnings that the financial and operational strain of managing early releases could undermine local police provision.