Burnham pauses plan to release some prisoners early from September
The UK government has paused a controversial early prison release scheme intended to alleviate overcrowding. The decision follows significant public and political backlash, particularly from victims' families concerned about the safety implications of releasing serious offenders early.
Why it matters
This highlights the tension between managing systemic infrastructure crises like prison overcrowding and maintaining public trust in the justice system.
Image source, Getty Images By Henry Moore and James Gregory Published 23 July 2026, 15:04 BST Updated 27 minutes ago Andy Burnham has announced he is pausing a scheme which would have seen thousands of prisoners in England and Wales eligible to be released early.
It came after criticism of the scheme from survivors and victims' families, including the widow of PC Andrew Harper who described the possibility of his killers' early release as "deplorable".
The Sentencing Act, which was due to come into effect in September, would have seen some offenders let out at varying stages in a bid to ease prison overcrowding.
The new Justice Secretary Alex Norris said the pause aimed to "give victims and survivors certainty" and the government wanted to make sure it got "the implementation of this policy right".
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