𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

More than 2,500 convicted criminals will be let out of prison early and home for Christmas, shocking new analysis has revealed. Some 1,350 crooks will be released in October, prompting fears “the public will pay the price” from a crime wave because the Probation Service will be “overwhelmed”.

Labour had delayed the scheme by a month, to give officials more time to prepare. But instead of moving everyone back, they are doubling the number being let out in October. And they only made the crucial changes to the legislation at 1am, the Tories claimed.

Some 700 convicts will be released early on October 1.

Then, another 650 will be released two weeks later.

Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy said: “At the last minute, the Justice Secretary has changed the timing of the early release scheme.

“It means 1,350 prisoners are now set to be freed in October alone. The Probation Service will be overwhelmed. 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.”

Mr Timothy added: “For weeks, Conservatives have called on the Prime Minister to delay the commencement order for Labour’s early release Act, and pass new legislation to stop the release of all killers, rapists, paedophiles and other dangerous offenders.

“Criminals were legally due to start being released on Wednesday. They only laid the order to delay the first batch until October at 1am.

“And now, double the original number of offenders will be released next month – over 1,300. They have tried to slip this out without anyone noticing – it’s a scandal.”

Justice chiefs are planning to release around 500 criminals early every month between October and February.

The mass-releases are set to be in October, November and December amid fears over a prison overcrowding crisis. From March, roughly 200 offenders will be released early every month.

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

Mr Burnham said the Government 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.

Ms Davies, the Caerfyrddin MP, told the Commons bereaved families faced “months of anguish” before the Prime Minister’s announcement.

She told MPs this included the family 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?”

Mr Burnham replied: “I do understand their anguish.”

He added: “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.”

Justice Secretary Alex Norris also apologised to victims for the chaos, before admitting the controversial policy will be in place “for the foreseeable future”.

The under-fire Labour minister conceded it could take 10 years to resolve the overcrowding crisis behind bars.

And Andy Burnham has proposed legislation to scrap indefinite Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences to free up “hundreds” of spaces in prisons.

Ministers faced fresh over this proposal on Wednesday, as a Government report revealed almost 100 dangerous prisoners held on indefinite sentences committed murders, rapes and other serious offences after being let out.

There are currently more than 2,200 men and women serving IPP sentences.

However, a report by the Ministry of Justice found 97 prisoners freed from their IPP sentences in the 10 years between 2014-15 and 2023-24 committed serious further offences, officially listed as including murder, manslaughter, rape, sexual assaults, kidnapping, arson and aggravated burglary.

Grooming gang perpetrators will also be blocked from early release after concerns were raised about a potential loophole in the system.

This will keep another 1,400 prisoners behind bars for longer, justice chiefs said.

Mr Norris warned prisons were “regularly at 99% capacity” when Labour took office in 2024, “with fewer than 100 places available at one stage – one bad day away from running out of space, courts forced to suspend trials, police unable to make arrests”.