Overview
- The prime minister ordered the early‑release provisions of the Sentencing Act put on hold on Thursday and instructed a fast, “urgent” review, with ministers saying no inmates will be released under the policy until it concludes.
- The pause followed reports that Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, who were convicted of manslaughter in PC Andrew Harper’s death, could have become eligible for earlier release under the new rules, prompting strong criticism from Harper’s family.
- Under the measure due to start in September, some prisoners would move from being eligible for release after serving half of a sentence to one‑third, and others from two‑thirds to half, with the MoJ estimating about 6,000 people could be affected and roughly 700 in the first tranche.
- Experts and former ministers warn the hold leaves a pressing capacity problem unresolved, with Sir David Gauke and others saying prisons could run out of spare places by November unless alternatives such as repurposing sites, earned‑progression schemes or increased tagging are scaled up.
- Ministers have given a short timetable for decisions, saying the review will report in the coming days and weeks, and the government faces trade‑offs between restoring public confidence for victims and finding operational solutions to a near‑full prison estate.