Kemi Badenoch has demanded Andy Burnham bring in emergency legislation to prevent the early release of hundreds of prisoners, warning that without it “dangerous offenders will start to be released”.
The Conservative leader spoke alongside victims who could be impacted by the changes, accusing the prime minister of knowing “this is a problem” but not knowing “what to do about it”. Her call comes after Burnham announced last week that he was pausing the September phase of the early release scheme, which would have freed about 700 prisoners, following a backlash from survivors and victims.
“Kemi Badenoch calls for emergency legislation to stop early release of prisoners, warning dangerous offenders could go free.”
But the Conservatives say the government’s review will not stop offenders being released. The scheme is part of a bid to tackle unprecedented overcrowding, which Labour says was caused by previous Conservative governments failing to build new prisons. A Labour spokesperson said: “It’s this government that is fixing the Tories’ mess.”
Burnham acknowledged it is “a challenging situation” and said he will “do anything I can to minimise risk to the public”, adding: “I have put the release plan for September on hold and we’ll make further statements on this in due course.”
Early release has been used repeatedly in recent years. The Conservative government began releasing prisoners early in 2023, first for 18 then 70 days. By early July 2024, before Labour came to power, 10,000 prisoners had been let out early. Under Sir Keir Starmer, 60,108 were released between September 2024 and December 2025. The government’s new Sentencing Act, passed in January, was due to release another 6,000 prisoners from September.
Although the act excludes the most serious offenders, eligibility is based on the length of fixed sentence rather than the type of offence, meaning some convicted of serious sexual and violent offences could leave prison earlier than expected. Shadow justice minister Kieran Mullan accused the government of being “extremely dishonest” about its release plans, telling the BBC its claims that serious offenders will not be released are not true.
The political pressure on Burnham is mounting against a backdrop of fragile public opinion. A More in Common poll gives Labour a 4 per cent lead over Reform, while YouGov shows the two parties level pegging – the first time since April last year that YouGov has shown anything other than a Reform lead. However, the New Statesman notes that both main parties are “weighed down by dreadful brand reputations” and that changing leader is “a necessary but far from sufficient condition” for reviving fortunes. Reform’s threat appears to be fading, having peaked at 33 per cent last autumn and slipping to 24 per cent, but the first-past-the-post system amplifies the danger of a widely spread vote. Labour showed two years ago that a party can win an overall majority with around one-third of the national vote, but Reform’s even distribution means it piles up wasted votes in many seats. For Burnham, the immediate test is whether he can contain the prison crisis without further eroding a still-fragile lead.