The controversial programme was set up by the Labour government in response to the prison overcrowding crisis – but criticised by the widow of PC Harper in recent days
Andy Burnham has announced he will pause the early prisoner release scheme in a dramatic intervention.
The controversial programme was set up in response to the prison overcrowding crisis left behind by the Tories – but criticised by the widow of PC Andrew Harper in recent days.
Under the new Sentencing Act – set to come into force in September – some 6,000 criminals were due to be released under the early prison release scheme.
But in a statement on Thursday, the new Prime Minister said: “Keeping the public safe will always be my top priority. I am working closely with the new Justice Secretary and have instructed my team to put a pause on the changes that were due to start in September.
“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. Where changes are needed, we will not hesitate to make them.”
The Prime Minister has said on Wednesday that the policy would be reviewed following an outcry over the potential release of two of PC Harper’s killers.
The hero police officer’s widow, Lissie Harper, said it was “deplorable” that Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers could be released within months.
Both were passengers in a car that dragged PC Harper, 28, for more than a mile down a country road as he responded to a burglary report. Cole and Bowers were both jailed for 13 years after being convicted for manslaughter in 2020.
Driver Henry Long did not qualify for early release under the government’s criteria.
A distraught Mrs Harper said in a statement on Wednesday: “It is deplorable to me that we have reached a point where releasing prisoners early is even considered acceptable. “We speak of justice, accountability and standing with victims, yet decisions like this do the opposite.”
The early release scheme was announced due to a dangerous lack of prison spaces when Labour came to power in 2024. During the riots that summer there were fears that jails would run out of spaces completely.
Changes in the Sentencing Act now mean that prisoners on standard determined sentences can be released after serving a third of their term. For violent or sexual offences, the changes mean they are released at the halfway point.
Those released early would be subject to strict conditions or face recall to prison, the government has previously said. Measures would include curfews and electronic tagging.
Labour said that it had no choice but to act due to the chronic lack of prison spaces when it came to power.
Last month, defending the early release of prisoners, justice minister Jake Richards told the Commons: “Without the Sentencing Act 2026, which received Royal Assent in January, the courts would be at risk of grinding to a halt, preventing sex offenders and others from being brought to justice. No space in prisons would mean no trials, no justice for victims and no punishment for offenders.”