Burnham pauses plan to release some prisoners early from September. First, domestic - Burnham’s intervention this afternoon on the early release of prisoners in England and Wales demanding a pause, a case study in the dilemmas of governing: Crowded prisons and difficult choices between least worst options – which criminals to free first.
Image source, Getty ImagesByHenry Moore and James Gregory and Sima Kotecha, Senior UK correspondentPublished23 July 2026, 15:04 BSTUpdated 41 minutes agoAndy Burnham has announced he is pausing a scheme which would have seen thousands of prisoners in England and Wales eligible to be released early.
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This was day three of the Burnham administration delivering an early morning nugget of news: business rates in England today, bus fares in England yesterday, a VAT cut on electricity bills the day before.
The scheme would have seen around 700 prisoners released in early September, the BBC understands, in a development tied to the same story.
Separately, Thousands of letters had been sent to victims in recent weeks, warning them that the early release scheme was coming in September.
The scheme would have started in phases from September and would have meant thousands of prisoners in England and Wales being eligible for earlier release.
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.
Burnham earlier said: "No prisoners will be let out under this policy until we have conducted an urgent review and done everything we can to minimise risk to the public.".
Separately, He added a review would also look at the information given to survivors and victims' families as part of the early release process.
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His mother, meanwhile, said her son had not been given "proper justice" and "every victim will be feeling the same" about the early prison release scheme.
Jade Belgrove, a survivor of sexual assault who has been campaigning against the early release scheme, said it was "such a relief that we've been heard", according to the latest reporting on the story.
Available information indicates that Victims' Commissioner Claire Waxman welcomed the decision, calling the original form of the early release scheme the "wrong course of action".
Steve Gillan general secretary of prison officers' union POA said he understood concerns about "operational stability" but the government was correct to pause early releases "to ensure there is adequate public protection in place and that victims of crime are put first".
Separately, What could happen to prisoner early release scheme now PM has paused it.
"Thousands of victims have already been told the offenders who harmed them could be released early, leaving many living with renewed fear and uncertainty," she said.
One element the government needed to get right was the information provided to victims before prisoners were released, Norris added, according to the latest reporting on the story.
Available information indicates that She told BBC News that when she received a letter informing her that her attacker might be released early "it was horrific".
