Burnham has stopped early plans to release prisons

Andy Burnham has announced the suspension of a scheme that would have made thousands of prisoners eligible for early release in England and Wales.

Survivors and victims’ families, including PC Andrew Harper’s widow, described the killers’ early release as “tragic” after the plan was attacked.

The Sentencing Act, which came into effect in September, saw some offenders released at different levels to ease prison overcrowding.

The new justice secretary, Alex Norris, said the pause was meant to “give certainty to victims and survivors” and ensure the government got “implementation of this policy right”.

He added that as part of the early evacuation process, the information provided to survivors and victims’ families will be reviewed.

Burnham previously said that “no prisoner will be released under this policy until we conduct an urgent assessment and do everything we can to minimize the risk to the public.”

“Whenever changes are needed, we will not hesitate to make them,” he added.

Under the law, some criminals are released after serving a third of their sentence, rather than more than half.

The remainder of their sentence will be spent in the community, where they will be supervised and may be returned to prison if they re-offend.

The most serious offenders were released after serving half of their sentences instead of two-thirds.

The policy was introduced to ease overcrowding in prisons but has been criticized by opposition parties, victims and their families.

The decision to pause the plan came amid criticism from the family of PC Andrew Harper, who was killed in 2019 when he was pulled over by three teenagers.

Two of PC Harper’s killers, who were both sentenced to 13 years in prison, will benefit from the scheme from June 2027, when the longest fixed sentences in the scheme were added.

PC Harper’s widow, Lise, called the plans “sad”. And politicians were taking decisions behind the table that would have real and lasting results for victims’ families, he said.

And his mother She said her son was not given “proper justice”. And “every victim will feel the same way” about the initial prison release plan.

In recent weeks, thousands of letters have been sent to victims, warning that the early evacuation plan will come in September.

Norris, who voted in favor of the Starmer government’s sentencing legislation, later said the decision to pause had been made “after listening to victims” and hoped to give them “certainty as soon as we can”.

He said: “The Prime Minister and I have heard from victims and survivors and from people across the country about the implementation of some of the most important elements of the Sentencing Act.

One thing the government needs to get right is information given to victims before inmates are released, Norris added.

Norris declined to address why he didn’t raise concerns when the fines were first introduced, but Burnham said he was “absolutely right” to review the plan.

“It’s such a relief,” said sexual assault survivor Jed Belgrove, who campaigned against the plans earlier released.

“It was terrifying,” she told the BBC when her attacker received a letter saying he could be released early.

Belgrove said it made her question whether reporting the assault was worth it in the first place.