# The grooming gang members and paedophiles set for early prison release by Labour

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/the-grooming-gang-members-and-paedophiles-set-for-early-prison-release-by-labour/
- Published: 2026-08-06T11:06:25+00:00
- Updated: 2026-08-06T11:14:06+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16030507/The-grooming-gang-members-paedophiles-set-early-prison-release-Labour.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: Americas, World

## Key points

- Some grooming gang members and paedophiles remain eligible for early release
- Labour's new exclusion only covers offences committed after 2003
- Loophole means historic sex offence cases are not covered by the ban

## Summary

Grooming gang members, a serial paedophile and other child sex offenders could be eligible for early release from prison under a Labour scheme, despite the government's recent pledge to exclude such criminals. Justice Secretary Andy Burnham announced this week that those convicted of rape, child sex offences and grooming would no longer qualify for early release, but it has since emerged that this exclusion will not apply to offences committed before the law changed in 2003, even where the offender was convicted more recently. This loophole means a number of serious child sex offenders may still walk free early, undermining the government's stated aim of tightening the scheme.

The gap stems from the Sexual Offences Act 2003, introduced under Sir Tony Blair's government, which created new anti-grooming laws and the offence of sexual activity with a child, replacing a range of older offences. Because Burnham's new exclusions are tied to offences under the 2003 framework, historic cases prosecuted under older laws fall outside the protection. The article cites the case of Vicki Crawford, who was 14 when attacked in the late 1980s, with her attacker, Melvyn Little, jailed for seven years after a later conviction.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.