Burnham blocks early release of rapists and child sex offenders

People jailed for rape, serious child sex offences and grooming will be excluded from the upcoming early release scheme, the government has announced.

It comes after Prime Minister Andy Burnham responded to backlash to the plan, which was initiated by the Starmer administration with the goal of easing prison overcrowding, by putting it on pause and launching an "urgent review".

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Mr Burnham has also delayed the start of the scheme from September to October and said he "wanted to go even further", but it was not possible without the prison system collapsing – putting the public "at much greater risk".

He is also seeking to assure the public that offenders will face tighter community supervision, including new GPS monitoring for rapists to restrict movements.

The policy has been controversial since the outset but returned to prominence earlier this month when it emerged a policeman's killers may be among those eligible for early release.

PC Andrew Harper was killed in 2019 while responding to a quadbike theft in Berkshire. When teens Albert Bowers, Jessie Cole, and Henry Long tried to escape, his ankles got caught in a getaway car's towrope loop, and he was dragged along a country road for a mile.

While Long, who was driving the vehicle, was jailed for 16 years for manslaughter and will not be eligible for early release, Bowers and Cole were jailed for 13 years for manslaughter and will be eligible to be freed under the scheme after serving half their sentences.

PC Harper's widow, Lissie Harper, had called for the prime minister to intervene. In a statement on Monday night, she condemned the fact that two of her husband's killers remain eligible as an "utter betrayal".

'I will not be able to forgive'

Ms Harper said: "What abhorrent message does this send? How dare ministers say the killing of a police officer is not enough of a 'sickening crime' that deserves the stiffest of punishments."

Bowers and Cole had "robbed us of our future" and "should remain in jail", she added.

"This is an utter betrayal – and it's one I will not be able to forgive or forget," she said.

Thames Valley Police chief constable Jason Hogg also said he was "beyond disappointed", while Aileen O'Connor, chair of the Thames Valley Police Federation, said she was "absolutely outraged".

PM: I wanted to go further

The prime minister said public safety is his "top priority", and he understands the "anger, anxiety and distress that's been caused" by the early release scheme.

Despite the announcement regarding rapists and child sex offenders, Mr Burnham said, "I know there will still be concerns about other offenders having their sentence shortened".

"That's why we will also be introducing much tougher community measures," he said.

"There will be a presumption that all offenders are tagged, longer periods of supervision and tough new rules, including restriction zones for offenders."

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The government has also announced a £10m package of support to provide better trauma-informed contact, with a new national helpline to contact all affected victims.

Mr Burnham also hit out at the previous Tory governments for not having invested in the prison estate, with adult male prisons now at 98% capacity, and pledged "the fastest prison-building programme since the Victorian era".

He has also asked Justice Secretary Alex Norris to look at how the UK can remove foreign offenders faster, review outdated Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences, and free up space in women's prisons.

How did we get here?

Under changes in the Sentencing Act around 6,000 offenders were set to be freed in September after serving a third of their sentence – rather than half – as part of efforts to reduce overcrowding.

Prisoners serving sentences of four years or more would be eligible for release at the halfway point of their term, rather than two-thirds.

'U-turn doesn't go far enough'

The Conservatives had voted against the scheme and said the "U-turn" from Mr Burnham doesn't go far enough.

Shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy said "the trauma of victims being told their abusers may be released can't be undone", while Reform UK branded the scheme "disgusting".

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