Ministers face pressure to legislate against early prisoner releases
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The Conservatives have called on Andy Burnham to introduce emergency legislation permanently ending the early release of serious offenders, including convicted paedophiles and rapists, after the Prime Minister paused the scheme following pressure from the family of murdered police officer Andrew Harper. Burnham said no prisoners would be released until an urgent review, expected to report within weeks, had been completed and risks to the public minimised, but the Tories dismissed this as inadequate, arguing only a change in the law could guarantee dangerous offenders stayed behind bars.
The scheme, introduced under the Sentencing Act to ease prison overcrowding, allows some inmates release after a third of their sentence rather than half, and had been expected to free around 6,000 offenders in September. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy pressed the case at a London press conference alongside victims, while Labour hit back, accusing the Tories of hypocrisy over their record in office, when 23 prisons were closed, only 482 new places created and 10,000 prisoners released early. The dispute centred partly on the case of Pc Harper's killers, with his mother welcoming the pause but calling for permanent reform, as the row over prison capacity and sentencing policy remained unresolved.
- Tories demand law change, not just a review, to stop early releases
- Burnham paused scheme after pressure over Pc Harper killers' case
- Labour accused Tories of hypocrisy over their own prison record
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Prisoners in England and Wales are sometimes released early to ease overcrowding, under a scheme that lets some serve as little as a third of their sentence instead of half, before being freed under supervision. This applies to certain offenders, and concerns grew after it emerged that people convicted of killing Pc Andrew Harper could potentially qualify. Following pressure from his family, the Prime Minister paused the scheme and ordered a review.
The dispute now is over how far that response should go. The Conservatives, led by Kemi Badenoch with shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy, want the government to pass emergency legislation to end early release for serious offenders permanently, rather than rely on a review. Andy Burnham, mentioned in the headline, has been named as someone the Tories want to act, though justice policy in England and Wales is normally led by the Ministry of Justice and the Prime Minister's office.
The scheme exists because prisons in England and Wales have been severely overcrowded, and successive governments, including previous Conservative ones, have used early release and other measures to manage capacity. This context matters because it means both main parties have a record on the issue, which is part of why the current row has become politically charged, with Labour accusing the Conservatives of hypocrisy over past prison closures and releases.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Advocates of emergency legislation argue that public protection must come before administrative convenience, and that a scheme allowing serious violent and sexual offenders out after a third of their sentence undermines both justice for victims and public confidence in sentencing. They point to cases like that of Pc Andrew Harper's killers as evidence that a review process, which could take weeks and offers no guarantee of permanent change, is too slow and too uncertain when offenders may otherwise walk free within days. For them, the moral urgency of preventing a single dangerous release outweighs the risks of acting quickly, and Parliament has a duty to close the loophole in law rather than merely promise to look at it.
The case against
Those cautious about rushing emergency legislation argue that sentencing policy has serious, system-wide consequences that deserve careful scrutiny rather than a hasty response to political pressure. They note that the early release scheme exists because of genuine prison capacity constraints, and that reversing it overnight without planning could risk overcrowding, strain on staff, and knock-on effects for court backlogs and remand numbers. A structured review, they contend, allows ministers to weigh public safety against operational reality and design a durable solution, rather than legislating in haste under emotional pressure and potentially creating unintended legal or practical problems that a calmer process would avoid.
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Originally published by The Independent as “Tories demand Andy Burnham make emergency legislation to stop early prison releases”.