Prime Minister Andy Burnham has insisted "nothing has changed" regarding the early prisoner release scheme, despite claims the government has U-turned over rising pressure. The scheme, which was expected to change sentencing rules from October 1, would have meant most adults serving standard prison sentences would be released earlier than originally set, with those convicted of less serious offences leaving jail after a third of their sentence.
Urgent Review and Pause
The new Prime Minister ordered an urgent review of the scheme in a dramatic intervention, and it has already suffered a number of significant set-backs. After Mr Burnham said the controversial idea would be paused, many are calling for a longer delay, with some suggesting it should be scrapped altogether and more ideas put forward to ease prison overcrowding.
The scheme drew criticism from survivors and victims' families, including the widow of PC Andrew Harper, who described the possibility of his killers Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers being released early as "deplorable".
Government Response and Further Measures
Mr Burnham admitted he wanted to go even further and ban other offenders from having their time in prison shortened. Justice Secretary Alex Norris said the pause aimed to "give victims and survivors certainty" and the government wanted to make sure it got "the implementation of this policy right". Today, Mr Burnham vowed to press "every single day to go further" on limiting the number of inmates who will be set free.
Downing Street previously said it was "not possible" to exempt "one or two offenders" convicted of manslaughter from the early release scheme, only for the PM to order his Justice Secretary to look again at the issue. In a statement, Mr Burnham said he is "increasingly confident" that plans to increase headroom in prisons will mean the number of criminals being released early, including two of PC Andrew Harper's killers, can be reduced.
Plan for Parliament
Mr Burnham said: "I have asked the Justice Secretary [Alex Norris] to fast-track the development of a plan for presentation to Parliament early next month to create more headroom within the prison system. It will be based on a range of options including the three strands of further work I asked him to initiate last week: increasing the rate of removal of foreign national offenders from the prison estate to their country of origin; finding an early resolution to the long-running injustice of IPP sentences, which could allow for the release of lower-risk prisoners; and making greater use of the entire prison estate including using the female estate for male offenders.
"I am increasingly confident that a more focused approach along these lines will allow us to reduce the number of people released early and, in the case of the most serious offenders like those convicted of the killing of PC Harper, prevent their early release altogether. In advance of the Justice Secretary's proposals being presented to Parliament, we will seek to engage other political parties in discussions with the aim of gaining the widest possible public and political consensus on the approach being taken.
"However, I recognise that, even with all these changes, there will be concerns from many victims about who will still be released early for other offences. I am doing all I can, but it is simply not possible to prevent all offenders from being released early without the prison system collapsing."
