Andy Burnham is facing fury over his handling of the early release scheme, with the Prime Minister insisting “there is more that can be done” after previously claiming he has “pushed the very limits” of who can be kept behind bars.
Order to free up prison cells
He has ordered Justice Secretary Alex Norris to free up more prison cells to keep dangerous criminals behind bars. Under new plans, male offenders could be moved to female prisons, while prisoners jailed indefinitely under a controversial scheme first introduced in 2005 could be released.
Mr Burnham was accused of a second U-turn in less than 12 hours after admitting that the UK needed to “change tactics” amid a rise in mega dinghies in the Channel. The Labour leader had claimed the plan was “working”.
Conservative criticism
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “Andy Burnham and Labour are re-traumatising victims and their families with their constant u-turns. We warned that Labour’s early release scheme would see rapists let out early - but they legislated anyway. Andy Burnham’s review then decided Andrew Harper’s killers should still be released early. Just yesterday No 10 briefed, falsely, that it was impossible to keep them in. Now, 24 hours later, he’s changed his mind again. It’s clear that good vibes and a snazzy t-shirt do not make for a competent government. Mr Burnham is letting down victims and their families on a daily basis. It’s not good enough.”
Shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy blasted the confusion engulfing Labour’s sentencing reforms. He said: “One week ago, the PM said he could not exclude anybody else from Labour's early release scheme because ‘it’s not possible without the prison system reaching capacity and collapsing.’ We said more could be done, and he denied it, but today he has once again changed position and accepted our argument. Instead of changing policy day-by-day he needs to present a proper plan and emergency legislation. He needs to let Parliament vote on who is and who is not excluded from this shambolic early release scheme. Nothing matters more than the safety of our people. Andy Burnham needs to get a grip.”
Justice Secretary under fire
Mr Timothy added: “Labour told us there was no alternative to releasing dangerous prisoners early. Then they U-turned to exclude rapists, now Andy Burnham is trying to exclude killers - every time in response to Conservative pressure. They have been consistently dishonest. Analysis by my party shows there are 4,000 places Labour could use if they wanted to. Why has it taken campaigning by victims and the Conservative Party to make them see sense?”
Justice Secretary Mr Norris admitted “the public rightly expect prison places to be there for serious criminals, and victims should not be asked to carry the cost” of a failing criminal justice system. But former prison governor Ian Acheson launched a scathing attack on the senior minister, declaring: “You’ve been given a much needed bollocking. Anyone can see that. You've been completely taken in by some of the most useless officials in Westminster who are still able to play you like an off-key banjo. HMP Weare demonstrated that unconventional custodial capacity can be brought into service quickly and run safely for a selected, lower-risk population. We need this type of thinking outside the box for short term population relief.”
HMP Weare was Britain’s only floating prison ship, holding up to 400 inmates up until 2006. The floating jail was opened off Portland as a temporary measure in 1997, originally for a period of three years.
Early release scheme details
As overcrowding surged to record levels in 2024, Labour began releasing tens of thousands of prisoners early. And ministers insisted they had to overhaul sentencing to prevent a repeat of the crisis. Many convicts will be out after spending just a third of their jail term in prison. And those sentenced to four years or more will only be let out after serving 50% of their sentence behind bars.
The first tranche of releases has been delayed – from September to October. Criminals handed sentences of less than 18 months will be the first to benefit from Labour’s softest sentencing reforms in a generation. But many of the country’s most dangerous people are still set to benefit from the scheme – including two of PC Andrew Harper’s killers. Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole are set to be released next year halfway through their 13-year sentences, after being convicted of manslaughter in 2020. Before this year’s Sentencing Act, they would have served two-thirds of their term.
Mark Fairhurst, National Chair of the Prison Officers’ Association, said: “He is being ill-advised by the bureaucrats in the MoJ who have persistently got prison population projection figures wrong. He can go further and I’m sure he will go further. I think they will quickly find out that that is the case [on the blocks being put in by the civil service]… but they need a long-term strategy for prison projections and prison population. For example, we have a lot of people who are there, but shouldn’t be there because there is nowhere else for them to go. I’m talking about people with acute mental health disorders. We’ve got a lot of non-violent offenders who could be managed robustly by community sentences – but at the moment the probation service is absolutely on its knees. The IPP sentencing, that’s a must. They are years over their release date. Surely all of those can’t be a risk?”
Former Immigration Minister Kevin Foster called for the UK to work with the US and EU on “visa and trade sanctions” if countries refuse to take back their criminals. Labour has vowed to ramp up removals of foreign criminals and look at releasing more than 2,500 offenders on imprisonment for public protection sentences (IPP). Male offenders could also be removed to the female prison estate.
The Prime Minister insisted “I don’t want to see a single prisoner released early” as he claimed to have been “pressing every single day to go further” on limiting the number of inmates who will be set free as part of the measures to reduce overcrowding. He said: “I’ve heard the depth of concern felt across the country about the potential release of the killers of Pc Andrew Harper and obviously I feel for the family and the anguish that they’re going through. What I have done since I came into office is push the system every single day to go further. I’ve not accepted it’s impossible to do more. I believe there is more that can be done.”
Mr Burnham previously said he had “pushed the very limits” in the changes he had made to the early release scheme - but has now said he can go further. The Labour leader added: “I don’t want to see a single prisoner released early, and that’s the spirit that I’ve brought to the first three weeks that I’ve served as Prime Minister, and I’ve always worked like that. I’ve never taken no for an answer, not in the past dealing with Hillsborough and other issues, and not now when I’m facing the situation that I’m looking at now.”
Earlier, Mr Burnham wrote on Facebook that he was “increasingly confident that a more focused approach” to creating more headroom in the prison system would “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”. The plans will be presented to Parliament when MPs and peers return from their summer break next month and Mr Burnham said he was keen to talk to opposition parties about them.
Mr Norris said: “We are working through every serious option to create more capacity without tipping prisons into collapse – which would be the worst possible outcome for victims.”
