\n<\/p>\n
Andy Burnham is focused on preventing the release of child sexual abuse perpetrators as part of the government\u2019s early release scheme, as urgent talks on which serious criminals could be exempted go down to the wire.<\/p>\n
Government ministers are understood to have 24 hours to assess which criminals can be released early to free up prison space, with every exemption weighed up against the threat of the criminal justice system\u2019s collapse.<\/p>\n
The prime minister halted controversial plans to release thousands of killers, rapists and sex offenders from prison in September, intended to ease critical prison overcrowding, during his second week in the role.<\/p>\n
He is keen to make as many exceptions as the small headroom in the prison estate will allow, the Guardian understands.<\/p>\n
Burnham wants to keep child rapists and other perpetrators of serious sexual abuse from being released early after ministers heard the concerns of victims\u2019 representatives and support services who warned that a failure to put in place safeguards for abuse victims would put them at particular risk.<\/p>\n
A review of the scheme is expected to conclude by the end of Monday to give the Prison Service time to prepare, with a final decision on exemptions still to be made.<\/p>\n
But ministers are keenly aware that if no action is taken, prisons will run out of space, while exempting some criminals is likely to lead to further calls for others to also be kept behind bars, sources told the Guardian.<\/p>\n
The former justice secretary David Lammy, who brought forward the act that paved the way for the releases, previously warned that failing to implement it could leave no capacity across jails in England and Wales in November.<\/p>\n
The new justice secretary, appointed by Burnham on 20 July, is Alex Norris.<\/p>\n
The early release scheme \u2013 accompanied by a significant expansion in electronic tagging of offenders \u2013 is still expected to take place this autumn with an initial group of about 700, despite warnings by probation officers of potential chaos.<\/p>\n
It is likely to cause a headache for the new prime minister as he faces the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, in the House of Commons for the first time. A government source said: \u201cIf we don\u2019t take any action, we will run out of room \u2013 it\u2019s not sustainable at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
It comes after the family of PC Andrew Harper expressed outrage that his killers may be eligible for early release. His mother, Debbie Adlam, said the proposed inclusion of two of her son\u2019s killers \u2013 Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers \u2013 was \u201canother letdown\u201d for their family.<\/p>\n
<\/span>PC Andrew Harper sustained fatal injuries while responding to a reported burglary in Sulhamstead, Berkshire, in August 2019.<\/span> Photograph: Thames Valley police\/PA<\/p>\n New sentencing laws were passed under Keir Starmer\u2019s government to ease a looming prison overcrowding crisis that ministers said could seize up the criminal justice system. Victims\u2019 advocates are concerned that high prisoner numbers will limit the number of serious criminals who could be exempted.<\/p>\n The former safeguarding minister Jess Phillips, a vocal critic of the scheme, said it was right that exemptions were being considered but there needed to be \u201ca whole system change with how victims and risk is managed as the sentencing review goes forward\u201d, which had to be carried out with victims\u2019 agencies, probation officers and police.<\/p>\n Under the Sentencing Act 2026, which passed in January, from September some serious offenders will be eligible for release halfway through their sentences rather than two-thirds of the way through. Those convicted of less serious crimes can be freed after serving a third of their sentence instead of 40%.<\/p>\n The new law also restricts the use of short-term prison stays, which will be replaced with probation and community orders \u2013 a move that some critics have said will put pressure on an already overburdened probation service.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotionFree newsletter | Every weekday<\/p>\n Sign up to First Edition<\/span><\/p>\n Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what\u2019s happening and why it matters<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Phillips said any review needed to examine not only the early release scheme but the presumption against short sentences. \u201cExemptions are an immediate safety crisis, but real in-depth work to make the situation better forever and be one based on risk and rehabilitation must be done,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Claire Waxman, the victims\u2019 commissioner for England and Wales, met Norris on Wednesday, and she told the Telegraph she welcomed his acknowledgment that victims had been let down and she was \u201ccautiously more hopeful\u201d about progress on answering her concerns.<\/p>\n But prison reform groups, government officials and politicians reacted angrily to Burnham\u2019s decision to pause the scheme, warning that abandoning measures to ease jail overcrowding could lead to the criminal justice system \u201ccollapsing under its own weight\u201d.<\/p>\n Ciara Bergman, the chief executive of Rape Crisis England and Wales, said centres had been supporting scores of victims through the \u201cdistress and terror of finding out that their rapists and abusers were due to be released \u2026 or in some cases already had been\u201d.<\/p>\n She said: \u201cVictim-survivors should never have been put in this situation, not least because so little is known about the factors which make some more like to offend than others, and how sexual violence offenders can effectively be managed and monitored in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said it was taking action to fix the prisons crisis, \u201ccaused by 14 years of Conservative neglect\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are pulling every lever to protect the public and cut crime,\u201d they said, pointing to the building of new prisons, expanding tagging, strengthening community punishment and giving victims a say in offenders\u2019 licence conditions.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have paused changes due to start in September to conduct an urgent review to make sure we get this policy right for victims without running out of prison spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Andy Burnham is focused on preventing the release of child sexual abuse perpetrators as part of the government\u2019s early release scheme, as urgent talks on which serious criminals could be exempted go down to the wire. 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