Is the prisoner release U-turn Andy Burnham's first 'disaster'?

Grooming gang perpetrators and killers, including those responsible for PC Harper’s death, will be blocked from early prison release under major changes announced by Andy Burnham following a backlash over the scope of the scheme.

 

Some 5,000 prisoners had been due to be released early from September under plans to ease jail overcrowding, down from 6,000 after ministers intervened to exempt rapists and “serious” child sex offenders.

 

Burnham initially resisted calls to limit the scheme further after it emerged that Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, who were convicted of Pc Harper’s manslaughter in 2020, would be eligible from next year.

 

But under fresh changes announced on Sunday, anyone convicted of unlawful killing, including all forms of manslaughter and death by dangerous driving, will be excluded.

 

Grooming gang perpetrators will also be blocked from early release after concerns were raised about a potential loophole in the system.

 

Indecent assault, an offence for which some child sex offenders were prosecuted before changes to sexual abuse laws in 2003, will be added to the list of exemptions to the scheme.

 

Some offenders serving indefinite jail sentences, which were abolished in 2012, will also be freed through legislation to be brought forward by the end of this Parliament, the Prime Minister promised.