About 1,000 fewer prisoners are set to be released early following an intervention to exclude individuals convicted of rape, serious child sexual offences, and grooming from the scheme. Justice Secretary Alex Norris confirmed that 5,000 prisoners would be released over 10 months starting from October in England and Wales.
This figure is a reduction from the government's initial plan to release 6,000 prisoners from September. The Prime Minister announced the exclusions on Monday, following pressure from various groups including MPs, victims, campaigners, and frontline prison officers.
Mr Norris told Sky News that while he would have liked to block more early releases, doing so would have caused the prison system to "break down". He also stated that the government would not require further emergency release schemes, anticipating that sentencing changes would provide "long-term security" for prison capacity.
However, Mr Norris acknowledged that the proposals had "created harm" for grieving families, such as Lissie Harper, the wife of PC Andrew Harper, and expressed his apologies. Debbie Adlam, PC Harper's mother, stated her family was "paying the price" as her son's killers remained eligible for early release under the plans.
Some prisoners serving time for certain sexual or violent offences may still be eligible for release at the halfway point of their sentence if they have not committed serious breaches of prison rules. This applies to Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, two of Harper’s killers, who were jailed for 13 years in 2020 for manslaughter. Henry Long, the main perpetrator, will not be subject to early release.