Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham to introduce emergency legislation to stop the early release of hundreds of prisoners, BBC News reported.
Burnham said last week that he was pausing the scheme, under which about 700 prisoners were expected to be freed in its first phase in September, after criticism from survivors and victims. The Conservatives argue that the government’s review will not prevent offenders from being released.
The scheme was designed to address severe prison overcrowding. Labour has blamed the situation on Conservative governments, saying they failed to build enough prison places. A Labour spokesperson said the current government was “fixing the Tories’ mess”.
Burnham said on Tuesday that the country was in a difficult position, but added that he would do anything he could to reduce risk to the public. He said the September release plan had been put on hold and that further statements would follow.
According to the BBC, early release was also used by the previous Conservative government in 2023 because of overcrowding, first for 18 days and then for 70 days. By early July 2024, before Labour took office, 10,000 prisoners had been released early.
When Sir Keir Starmer entered Downing Street, there were fewer than 100 spare places in the adult male prison estate. A subsequent release scheme saw 60,108 people released early between September 2024 and December 2025.
Under the government’s Sentencing Act, passed in January, a further 6,000 prisoners were due to be released in stages from September. The act excludes some of the most serious and dangerous offenders, including murderers serving life sentences and prisoners on extended sentences, but eligibility is based on the length of a fixed sentence rather than the offence type.
The BBC reported that this means some people convicted of serious sexual and violent offences who have fixed release dates could leave prison earlier than expected, although they would be subject to monitoring and could be recalled.
Conservative shadow justice minister Kieran Mullan accused the government of being “extremely dishonest” about its plans and said claims that serious offenders would not be released were untrue.
Badenoch has called on Burnham to fast-track legislation to keep serious offenders in prison. She said the prime minister appeared to recognise the problem but did not know how to address it.
She wants legislation due to come into force on 2 September to be revoked and has said Parliament should be recalled if needed to ensure the most serious violent and sexual offenders are excluded from early release. The government can decide when parts of the Sentencing Act come into force and can change the start date without recalling Parliament.
Asked whether prison overcrowding was a failure of the previous Conservative government, Badenoch said the crisis had been developing for a long time. She said the Conservatives had acted but that it had not been enough, adding that she could not change the past but could propose solutions.
She also said more prisons would need to be built, including in local communities, and urged the government to consider renting prison places overseas. The BBC reported that Conservative and Labour ministers had previously concluded that plans involving Estonia would be too expensive.
Burnham’s pause followed criticism from the family of Thames Valley Police officer Andrew Harper, who was killed in Berkshire in 2019. Two of those convicted in connection with his death, who were sentenced to 13 years in prison, would have benefited from the scheme from June 2027. His widow, Lissie Harper, criticised the proposals and warned of lasting consequences for victims’ families.
A Labour spokesperson defended the review and criticised the Conservatives’ record in office, saying they had shut 23 prisons, created 482 jail places and granted early release to 10,000 prisoners. Labour said it had already delivered more than 3,000 prison places and was investing billions to create more.
Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Jess Brown-Fuller said the Conservatives had left the prison system on the brink of collapse and said Burnham had an opportunity to correct earlier mistakes. Reform UK’s Zia Yusuf said his party had consistently opposed early release and described the policy as disastrous.
