The domestic abuse commissioner for England and Wales has welcomed Prime Minister Andy Burnham's "swift action to fully pause the early release scheme".

Dame Nicole Jacobs says the measure would have led to "dangerous abusers" being released into the community, without protections in place for survivors.

"Ministers should never have underestimated the risk domestic abuse perpetrators pose to their victims," Jacobs highlights, adding that these individuals know where their victims live, where they work and where their children go to school.

Jacobs acknowledges the government needs to address overcrowding in prisons, but it "should not come at the expense of victims' safety". She urges the new government to exclude domestic abusers from the scheme.

Minister wrong to say Labour building prison places 40 times faster than Toriespublished at 17:00 BST

17:00 BST

By Lucy Gilder

In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, chief secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds said Labour is “now building prison places at 40 times the rate of the last Conservative administration”.

She added that the Tories “only built 500 places in the entire 14 years that they were in power”.

But this is not a like-for-like comparison, as Reynolds appears to be comparing total prison places created by Labour versus net prison places added by the Conservatives.

Ministry of Justice (MoJ) analysis shows the last Conservative government built 13,009 prisons places between 2010 and 2024, external, while an estimated 12,514 were closed. This means a net total of 482 places were added, which equates to 34 net prison places a year.

The MoJ told BBC Verify that Labour had delivered about 3,200 places so far - 1,600 for each of their two years in office, which is about 47 times higher than the Tories’ annual rate.

However, the MoJ also told us that this figure is only for new prison places and doesn’t factor in those taken out of use. It’s therefore not a direct comparison to the Tories’ net total.

The previous government enacted a range of reforms to the prison system as part of their bid to ease overcrowding in jails.

Among them was the early release scheme Andy Burnham said would be paused. Other measures to address overcrowding remain in place.

In March, courts were told to stop handing out short prison terms other than in a number of specific or exceptional circumstances. That means most offenders in England and Wales who would have faced up to a year in jail are now likely to receive no more than a suspended sentence.

The reform also includes allowing judges to suspend jail sentences of up to three years - a measure intended to slow down the rate at which criminals enter jail. Curbing short sentences but supporting criminals with rehabilitation is also seen as a step to stop people from re-offending.

In January, the government passed the Sentencing Act 2026 - a wide-ranging package of measures to ease overcrowding in prison. Ministers also hoped the new legislation would support criminals' rehabilitation.

Image source, PA Media

Reform UK's home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf has responded to the prime minister's announcement.

"The Tories imported 6.5 million people in 14 years and added just 455 prison places to cope," he says.

"Labour is continuing this failure. Reform will deport all foreign nationals in our jails and use the space to end early release so violent criminals stay where they belong: in jail."

We'll bring you more political reaction as it arises.

Image source, PA Media

Before Andy Burnham commmited to “put a pause” on the early release of prisoners, members in the House of Lords had been expressing their thoughts on the scheme.

Conservative former solicitor general Lord Garnier argued the government should free non-violent women from prisons instead of dangerous criminals.

“There are 3,650 women in prison in England and Wales, and about 2,500 of those people – that’s to say, 70% of the women’s prison population – are in custody for non-violent offences," he told peers.

He added that if the government "think it's better" to release violent criminals and sex offenders rather than non-violent female prisoners to free up space then "what the hell do they think they’re doing?”

In response, Labour frontbencher Lord Katz said there were "more sophisticated responses to the kind of the very simplistic problem" posed by Lord Garnier.

Leading lawyer and independent crossbencher Lord Pannick also questioned why releasing prisoners who are not subject to the most severe sentences, for example those serving 10 years or less, could not "adequately" reduce prisoner numbers.

Steve Gillan, general secretary of prison officers' union POA, says prisons have been overcrowded for many years, blaming the previous government.

"Whilst I understand the concerns about operational stability, it is right that the new Prime Minister Andy Burnham and the Justice Secretary Alex Norris, who has also just been appointed, examine the risk to the general public if prisoners are released too early from their sentence," he says.

"They are correct to pause the releases under the Sentencing Act 2026 to ensure there is adequate public protection in place and that victims of crime are put first.”

More than 60,000 released under ‘temporary’ Labour schemepublished at 16:10 BST

16:10 BST

By Lucy Gilder

A total of 60,108 prisoners were released under the government’s early release scheme between September 2024 and December 2025, according to the latest Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures.

There is no breakdown by offence type, as the MoJ only publishes figures for sex, age, nationality, ethnicity, sentence length and the prison they were released from.

This scheme, which allowed some prisoners in England and Wales serving a fixed-length term to be released after serving 40% of their sentence, was introduced as a temporary measure by Labour in September 2024.

Justice Minister Jake Richards previously described the old scheme as a “bridge to a more sustainable solution”. This solution was to come in the form of the Sentencing Act, of which the early release provisions have now been paused by Burnham.

A temporary scheme under the last Conservative government saw 10,082 offenders released early between October 2023 and June 2024.

This initially allowed some prisoners to be released up to 18 days before their release date. The Conservatives gradually increased this to a maximum of 35 days before extending it to 70 days.

Both governments said that early released prisoners would be subject to strict license conditions.

The policy - now paused - would have meant thousands of prisoners in England and Wales being eligible for earlier release. Under the scheme, which was due to start in phases from September:

• Offenders serving standard fixed sentences, who were due to be released after 50% of their term, would leave jail after serving 33%
• Serious sexual and violent offenders on fixed terms, who would have been released at 66% of that sentence, would be released after 50%
• These offenders would be intensively supervised but could lose the privilege of being out if they don't make progress towards rehabilitation
• The most serious offenders - including life prisoners and those who are subjected to extended monitoring - are not eligible under the scheme

Earlier this month, a number of grooming gang survivors wrote to MPs asking them to exclude sexual offenders from the early release scheme.

The letter, which was signed by five women from Yorkshire and the mother of a late victim from Rochdale, said that for any release under consideration or due to happen there should be "a clear legal duty" to tell victims "in good time".

The risks to themselves and their families should also be considered with "proper safeguarding and support in place before an offender is released", it added.

Sarah Wilson, one of the signatories, previously told the BBC she felt "let down all over again" after hearing that two of her attackers could be eligible for early release.

Seven men were convicted of offences against Sarah, from Rotherham, who has waived her right to anonymity.

• Read more about the letter in our news story

"It's such a relief that we've been heard," says Jade Belgrove, a survivor of sexual assault who has been campaigning against the early release scheme.

She tells BBC News that when she received a letter informing her that her attacker might be released early "it was horrific".

Belgrove says it even led her to question whether reporting the assault in the first place was worth it.

"I've had to find everything within myself to stand up and get my justice," she explains. "Then to feel like it was being completely taken away from me, I felt lost and silenced all over again."

While Belgrove says she understands overcrowding is an issue in prisons, she stresses "victims should never come second to that" and tells Prime Minister Andy Burnham to "put survivors at the front" of the upcoming review of the early release scheme.

Sima Kotecha
Senior UK correspondent

As we've reported a little earlier, our correspondent has been speaking to prison staff reacting to Andy Burnham's announcement.

Another senior prison staffer messages to say: "This is a good decision because we need to properly evaluate the risk some of these prisoners could pose if released in the autumn. Public safety must come first."

"The real problem is the lack of staff who have to maintain control of our overcrowded jails. We just don’t have enough prison officers," they add.

Image source, Parliament TV

The minister who oversaw the controversial early release scheme resigned from government just a few days ago.

Lord James Timpson was appointed in July 2024 after leaving his job as CEO of the Timpson group, a business which provides key cutting and shoe repair services and employs hundreds of former prisoners.

But he stood down from the role on Monday, the same day Andy Burnham officially replaced Keir Starmer as prime minister.

Lord Timpson said it was an "honour" to serve in the post and leaves "our prisons and probation service in a much healthier and happier state than two years ago".

He did not give a specific reason for resigning, but it is understood he felt he had done as much as he could in the role.

Sima Kotecha
Senior UK correspondent

A prison officer tells me: “We’re super overcrowded - this isn’t great news.

"If we don’t let people out in September we could be at a critical point come November where we’re at full capacity.

"It's a bonkers decision."

Dominic Casciani
Home and legal correspondent

The pausing of the early release scheme comes after thousands of letters were sent to victims in recent weeks, warning them it was coming in - but those letters did not spell out when particular offenders could get out, triggering alarm and uncertainty.

Under the scheme, to help manage the prisons overcrowding crisis, most offenders on fixed terms would benefit from getting out of jail after serving a third of their sentence, rather than a half.

The rest would be spent in the community, where they would be monitored, and if they stepped out of line they could be returned to jail.

From 2 September offenders serving up to 19 months would get out earlier.

Two of the killers of PC Andrew Harper, who got 13 years a piece, would have benefited from the scheme from June 2027, when the longest fixed sentences would have been added to the scheme.

All of this is now in doubt. Ministers have the power to revise this timetable - but any more fundamental change would require a vote by MPs in Parliament.

Image source, PA Media

Andy Burnham's announcement today comes after the widow of PC Andrew Harper described the possible early release of prisoners as "deplorable".

PC Harper, 28, was killed in 2019 when he was dragged by a car down a country road as three teenagers fled the scene of a quad bike theft in Berkshire.

His mother recently received a letter from the Ministry of Justice warning that two of the killers - Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers - could be set free early.

PC Harper's wife, Lissie, said politicians were "making decisions from behind a desk that will have real and lasting consequences" for the families of victims.

Cole and Bowers were sentenced to 13 years in custody for manslaughter but could have been released early under the new Sentencing Act.

As our correspondent Dominic Casciani explains in the next post, they could have been eligible for early release from June next year.

Henry Long - who drove the car that dragged PC Harper - is not eligible for the release scheme because he received a more severe type of extended sentence that was excluded from the reforms.

Image source, PA Media

The prime minister says that no prisoners will be freed under the early release policy "until we have conducted an urgent review and done everything we can to minimise risk to the public".

In a statement this afternoon, Burnham says: “Keeping the public safe will always be my top priority.

“I am working closely with the new justice secretary and have instructed my team to put a pause on the changes that were due to start in September.

“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.

“Where changes are needed, we will not hesitate to make them.”

Prime Minister Andy Burnham says he will pause the plan which would have seen thousands of offenders in England and Wales eligible to be released earlier.

This is breaking news - we'll have more on this in our next few posts.