Lissie Harper, the widow of PC Andrew Harper, called it “deplorable”. Her husband’s killers were among thousands of convicted criminals due to be let out of prison early under a controversial scheme that Prime Minister Andy Burnham has now paused. The plan, part of the Sentencing Act passed under the previous government, was designed to ease severe overcrowding in England and Wales prisons. But an outcry from victims’ families and warnings from probation officers forced Burnham to order an urgent review just days after taking office.
The early release scheme would have seen around 6,000 prisoners eligible for release at an earlier point in their sentences. For less serious offenders, that meant serving a third of their sentence behind bars instead of half; for more serious offenders, half instead of two-thirds. The remainder of the sentence would be spent in the community under monitoring, with the threat of being returned to prison if they reoffended. The first tranche of about 700 prisoners was due to be freed in September 2026.
“Why the UK's early prisoner release scheme was paused and what it means for public safety and justice.”
So why does this policy exist? The simple answer is that prisons in England and Wales are dangerously full. Without the scheme, officials warn, the system will run out of capacity by November 2026. The Sentencing Act was a Labour government measure, supported by the current Justice Secretary Alex Norris, intended to manage that crisis. But critics – including opposition parties, the Probation Union, and victims’ groups – argued it prioritised capacity over public safety and victim justice.
The tipping point came when it emerged that two of the men convicted of killing Thames Valley Police officer Andrew Harper in 2019 – Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, who each received 13 years – would have been eligible for early release from June 2027 under the scheme. Their inclusion triggered widespread anger. PC Harper’s mother, Debbie Adlam, said her son had not received “proper justice”. The new prime minister, who had previously criticised the plan while campaigning, swiftly announced a pause. “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,” Burnham said.
For readers in the UK, this matters directly. The review will decide who is still released early and under what conditions. It raises fundamental questions about the balance between public safety, prison capacity, and the rights of victims. If the scheme goes ahead in any form, thousands of offenders will return to communities across England and Wales – monitored by a probation service that has already warned of “chaos”. If it is cancelled or heavily restricted, the government must find other ways to stop prisons from overflowing, such as using police cells or building more prison places, both expensive and controversial.
Q: Why are prisoners being released early in the UK? A: The early release scheme is a response to chronic overcrowding in prisons in England and Wales. Without releasing some inmates early, officials say the system will run out of space by November 2026. The Sentencing Act, which introduced the changes, was passed to ease that pressure.
Q: Who will be affected by the early release scheme? A: The scheme would have affected up to 6,000 prisoners, beginning with about 700 in September 2026. It covers both less serious offenders (released after a third of their sentence) and more serious offenders (released after half). The review may now carve out exceptions for certain crimes, such as those against emergency workers.
Q: Will the early release scheme still go ahead? A: Possibly, but with changes. Burnham has paused the scheme for an urgent review, and has said no prisoners will be released until that review is complete. The most likely outcome is a modified version that exempts some categories of offenders, because the prison capacity crisis has not gone away, and alternatives are limited.
What happens next is uncertain. Burnham has ordered the Justice Secretary Alex Norris to conduct a review aimed at “minimis[ing] risk to the public”. The review will also look at the information given to victims and their families. With prisons still near capacity and the government committed to fiscal discipline, the pressure to find a solution is intense. The public can expect an announcement in the coming weeks, possibly ahead of the budget, but for now, the early release scheme is on hold.