The Home Secretary has defended the decision not to exclude rapists from the initial early prison release scheme, despite victims expressing fears for their lives. Shabana Mahmood's comments come after Andy Burnham paused plans to free prisoners early following a public outcry over the release of killers linked to PC Andrew Harper and Daejaun Campbell.
Government responds to public outcry
The Prime Minister has now removed the right of those convicted of rape, serious child sex offences, and grooming to have their sentences reduced. This change came only after campaigners delivered a letter to Parliament and highlighted the extent of their concerns.
Metro revealed that Carol Higgins, now a mother of two, had been told her rapist father was being considered for early release after serving just a quarter of his 20-year sentence. She told Metro: 'Reading that letter just overwhelmed me, I couldn't stop shaking. It has made me feel how he made me feel for years – completely worthless.'
Home Secretary's justification
Carol cried tears of 'joy and relief' after being told her father, Elliott Appleyard, will most likely remain in prison following Andy Burnham's intervention. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has defended not excluding rapists and sex offenders earlier, stating there were fewer than 80 prison places available across England and Wales in her first week in September 2025.
Labour's early release scheme started in September 2024 with the aim of easing overcrowding in jails. Mahmood told The Times: 'Nobody ever wanted to be in the position of having to release anybody earlier in their sentence than might otherwise be the case.'
Risk of system collapse
She added: 'What we're always trying to do is avoid the worst possible outcome. And the worst possible outcome – and this was true when it was the Conservatives, it was true when it was me, it's going to be true for every justice secretary, is that you run out of prison places entirely.'
'And if you run out of prison places entirely you will see the collapse of the criminal justice system, the police won't be able to make arrests and of course there won't be a trial and that is not a thing that any government can allow to happen. I had to make choices that were about getting the system away from collapse and trying to get to a more sustainable position in the future.'
Scheme rules and review
The rules of the current scheme allow certain prisoners to be released after serving 40% of their fixed-term sentence, rather than the usual 50%. The 2026 Sentencing Act, which became law earlier this year, allows for an expansion of the early release scheme by reducing the threshold from 40% of a fixed-term sentence to a third.
A review of the scheme is set to be published once Parliament is back in session in September, with it expected to still go ahead in October.
