Andy Burnham has paused the early release of hundreds of prisoners after a backlash from victims and their families — but the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, insists that without emergency legislation, dangerous offenders will be freed within weeks.
Badenoch is expected to say at a press conference on Tuesday: “It’s all well and good cutting bills and bus fares, but that pales into insignificance when paedophiles and rapists are about to be let out on our streets.”
“Kemi Badenoch has called for emergency legislation to halt the early release of serious offenders in September.”
The scheme, part of the Sentencing Act due to come into effect on 2 September, would have allowed some prisoners to be released after serving a third of their sentence instead of half. More serious offenders would have been let out after half rather than two-thirds. Around 700 prisoners were due to be freed in the first phase.
Burnham announced the pause last week, saying: “No prisoners will be let out under this policy until we have conducted an urgent review and done everything we can to minimise risk to the public.” The decision came after criticism from Lissie Harper, widow of PC Andrew Harper, who called the plans “deplorable”. Two of her husband’s killers, sentenced to 13 years, would have been eligible from June 2027.
But the Conservatives argue that a review will not prevent releases. The shadow justice secretary, Nick Timothy, said: “The clock is ticking. Thousands of rapists, paedophiles, and other serious criminals are set to be released in September. Labour must act now and stop the mass release of dangerous criminals.”
Badenoch is calling on Burnham to bring forward emergency legislation to revoke the act and, if necessary, recall Parliament. Without it, she says, offenders will start to be released the day after MPs return from the summer recess on 1 September.
The early release scheme was introduced by the previous Conservative government in 2023 to tackle prison overcrowding. By June 2024, 10,000 prisoners had been freed early. When Sir Keir Starmer entered Downing Street in July 2024, fewer than 100 spare places remained in the adult male estate, prompting the Sentencing Act to release a further 6,000 inmates from September. Labour insists it is “fixing the Tories’ mess”.
The new justice secretary, Alex Norris, said the pause aimed to “give victims and survivors certainty”. A review will examine the information given to families as part of the early release process. But with no legislative change, the clock continues to tick towards September — and Burnham’s first major test in office.
