Labour set to release 2,500 criminals onto Britain's streets before Christmas

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Andy Burnham said Labour will exclude prisoners from sentencing changes if they were jailed for offences such as manslaughter

Labour is set to release 2,500 criminals onto British streets before Christmas under the controversial early release scheme.

The official Whitehall timetable revealed the Ministry of Justice was planning to fast-track the early releases later this year.

Under the timetable, 1,350 prisoners are set to be freed in two days in October as Labour seeks to prevent jails from running out of space.

This will then be followed by a further 650 prisoners in November and 550 in December, all of who will be freed after serving as little as a third of their sentences if they were supposed to serve 40 per cent.

The rules of the current scheme allow some prisoners to be released after serving 40 per cent of their fixed-term sentence, rather than the usual 50 per cent.

The Sentencing Act 2026, which became law earlier this year, allows for an expansion of the early release scheme by reducing the threshold from 40 per cent of a fixed-term sentence to a third.

The Act also allows for prisoners serving standard determinate sentences of more than four years for certain violent and sexual offences to have their automatic release point reduced from two-thirds of the sentence to halfway.

At the end of August, Andy Burnham said Labour will exclude prisoners from sentencing changes if they were jailed for offences such as manslaughter, causing death by dangerous driving, and causing or allowing the death of a child.

However, shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy warned that the fast-tracking would overwhelm the probation service. He told The Telegraph: "The public will pay the price, Before these changes, each tranche was set to be released a month apart.

"Now the first two will be released within two weeks of each other. Over 2,500 criminals will be back on the streets by Christmas. Labour’s shambolic early release scheme is to blame."

Head of the youth justice board Phil Bowen also warned of an increased risk of violence in young offenders’ institutions (YOIs) after Labour confirmed 18-year-olds will be held in the YOIs rather than being moved to adult prisons as part of efforts to tackle the overcrowding crisis.

He added: "There is a real risk that this decision could have unintended consequences for the safety and wellbeing of both children and staff."

Speaking in the Commons yesterday, Mr Burnham has said he understands the "anguish" bereaved families faced as a result of changes to the early prisoner release programme, but stopped short of apologising to them.

The Prime Minister faced a call from Plaid Cymru MP Ann Davies to apologise to victims of crime and their families, who feared killers could be released sooner.

Ms Davies, the MP for Caerfyrddin told the Commons bereaved families faced "months of anguish", citing the story of Aaron Jones, 38, who died in the village of Llanpumsaint in Carmarthenshire in December 2024.

Driver Daniel Wyke, from Carmarthen, admitted causing the death of Mr Jones and was jailed for four-and-a-half-years earlier this year.

Ms Davies asked: “Will the Prime Minister now apologise to victims and their families put through significant distress throughout this process? Can he also assure them that, unlike the Labour precedent, there will be no Government U-turn on this?”

The Prime Minister replied: "I do understand their anguish...I listened to what they were saying, I came in and asked for changes to the early release scheme, and we excluded rape, grooming and child sex offences.

"But hearing those voices, I wasn’t satisfied and I pushed the system to go further. And as a result of that, we are going further and excluding death by dangerous driving and other manslaughter offences.

"So, I hope now she can give that certainty to the family, give them also my best wishes. I believe we’re coming to the right position and I can assure her that the Justice Secretary (Alex Norris) will be on top of this situation, so that we ensure we are never in this position again."

Domestic abuse and stalking victims’ campaigners and groups have also warned the MoJ’s planned restriction zones around offenders they would fail to protect victims unless they were "implemented properly".

Chairman of Refuge Hetti Barkworth-Nanton said: "The only way they can provide proper protection is if a breach of the boundary results in an immediate 999 flag and response."

Victims minister Alex Davies-Jones said: "Under the original Sentencing Act, we were expecting an initial 6,000 prisoners to be released earlier than planned but over 10 tranches, so not on day one but that was the initial cohort.

"When the PM came into office, he created exemptions for rape and serious child sex offenders from being released that reduced those coming out early to about 5,000.

"Following the announcement yesterday, we will now see an initial 4,500 prisoners coming out over 10 months so they can be safely and effectively monitored in the community earlier than planned."