Andy Burnham has announced he is pausing a scheme which would have seen thousands of prisoners in England and Wales eligible to be released early.
“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,” the prime minister said.
In 2024, the Labour government announced emergency measures to release some prisoners early to ease overcrowding.
Under the Sentencing Act, which was due to come into effect in September, some offenders would have been let out after serving a third of their sentence.
Those who previously have served two-thirds would instead be released after serving half of their sentence.
The policy was brought in to ease overcrowding in the prison system but has been criticised by opposition parties, as well as victims and their families.
In a statement on Thursday, Burnham said: “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.”
Source:
www.bbc.co.uk