Burnham gets the early prison release changes he wanted - but at what cost?
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced stricter criteria for early prison releases, excluding more offenders to address public concern. However, the move faces criticism as the prison system is already near capacity, and proposed solutions like deportation and new cell construction are long-term projects.
Why it matters
This decision highlights the tension between political pressure to keep dangerous offenders incarcerated and the practical reality of a prison system at 98% capacity.
Figure caption, Watch: PM confirms PC Harper's killers will remain in prison
The prime minister's announcement that he will keep hundreds of criminals behind bars who would otherwise have been released early is one he has wanted to make for weeks.
Andy Burnham had already expanded the list of people ineligible for early release and had consistently said he wanted to go further.
What is not clear is exactly what has changed to allow him to do so.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Justice warned that exempting any more prisoners risked "prisons reaching capacity and collapsing".
The prime minister himself previously said he had "pushed to the very limits of what is possible to do".
In his exclusive interview with BBC Breakfast, Burnham picked out the release of people on controversial indefinite sentences and the deportation of foreign criminals as measures that had made his latest intervention possible.
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