(UK prison wall. Photo by BBC News)
According to Prime Minister Andy Burnham, the early prisoner release policy will be reviewed.
“I can’t say that I can change the policy completely, but I will look at it in detail before we go further forward,” he told reporters in Bath.
He admitted that there was “pressure on prisons places” and that “an unacceptable situation” had been brought about by prior underinvestment in the prison system.
Tens of thousands of inmates have been released early from prison to free up space in jails since September 2024, a policy that has been in place amid ongoing overcrowding pressures across the prison estate.
His comments come after the mother of police officer Andrew Harper described the potential early release of two of her son’s k!llers as feeling like an insult.
Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers were sentenced to 13 years in custody for manslaughter but could be released early under the new Sentencing Act.
Prison overcrowding has been a persistent problem for several years, with successive governments resorting to early releases as a way to ease capacity pressures.
The Sentencing Act, passed by Sir Keir Starmer’s government earlier this year, was designed to relieve pressure on prisons and will see some offenders spend less time in custody before release.
Burnham said he wanted to assure himself that every aspect of the policy had been properly considered before it proceeds, adding that he would personally examine every part of it alongside the justice secretary.