UK government pauses early prison release scheme amid capacity concerns

The British Prime Minister has suspended an early release programme that would have allowed roughly 6,000 offenders to leave custody after serving a reduced portion of their sentences. An urgent review, led by Justice Secretary Alex Norris, is to be completed in the coming days and weeks, with the aim of balancing victim concerns, public safety and prison capacity.

The pause follows criticism from the family of PC Andrew Harper, killed in 2019, whose killers were among those slated for early release. Independent review chair Sir David Gauke warned that, without the scheme, prisons in England and Wales could run out of space by November, potentially forcing emergency measures.

The proposed reforms under the upcoming Sentencing Act would have lowered release thresholds from a third or half of a sentence to a third for certain prisoners, a move intended to ease overcrowding but now under scrutiny.