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Labour has been accused of a “dereliction of duty” after claiming criminals serving a third of their sentence behind bars will be “business as usual”. Justice Secretary Alex Norris apologised to victims for the chaos surrounding the Government’s early release scheme after adopting the “fifth position in six weeks”.

And Mr Norris admitted the controversial policy – which will see thousands of criminals released after serving 33% of their sentence in jail – 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.

Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy said: “Describing the early release of criminals, a dangerous and irresponsible policy, as ‘business as usual’ is an insult not just to victims, it’s a dereliction of duty.”

In a sign of the chaos engulfing the system, victims will be asked how they want to be protected from criminals who are being released early.

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

Under Labour’s plans, many convicts will be out after spending just a third of their jail term in prison. And those sentenced to four years or more will only be released after serving 50% of their sentence behind bars.

Mr Timothy said: “The plan is to stop one group of dangerous criminals from leaving prison early by letting a different group of dangerous criminals out instead.

“The Justice Secretary and Prime Minister have justified the plan to release IPP prisoners as a matter of principle.

“But it’s no such thing. It’s a fag-packet policy written to get them out of this crisis.

“Last year, a Justice Minister rejected it, saying it will ‘put the public at risk’.

“And, despite the new exclusions, many violent criminals will still be released after one third of their sentence. This includes domestic abusers and some paedophiles.

“The Justice Secretary said this morning that early release is now ‘business as usual’. So, with that in mind, the Sentencing Act provides no end date to SDS33. Is this a permanent provision?”

Mr Burnham – who had resisted calls to keep killers behind bars – confirmed anyone convicted of unlawful killing, including all forms of manslaughter and death by dangerous driving, will be excluded.

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.

The first tranche of releases has been delayed from September to October. Criminals handed sentences of less than 18 months will be the first to benefit from Labour’s softest sentencing reforms in a generation.

David Gauke, the former Tory Justice Secretary who drew up Labour’s early release scheme, warned that freeing IPP prisoners could be even more risky than releasing killers and rapists early.

But Mr Norris refused to rule out watering down Parole Board assessments for the prisoners deemed a threat to society.

And Mr Timothy told MPs last night: “1,415 IPP prisoners had to be recalled to prison after release. The Parole Board says the rest – 856 prisoners – are too dangerous to be freed.”

Defending the changes, the Justice Secretary said: “The number of IPP offenders has been reducing, but the Prime Minister and I want to go further.

“We will soon bring forward legislation to end the IPP sentence once and for all, by the end of this Parliament.

“These are complex cases, and some of these offenders have committed serious crimes.

“Public safety will always be my top priority, and we must balance that with fairness. It will take time to get this right, but work will begin immediately, and on a cross-party basis.

“I will listen to experts, inside and outside this House – including the former Justice Secretary, Robert Buckland and former Home Secretary, David Blunkett… committed advocates of IPP reform… whom I thank for agreeing to work with me.”

Speaking of Labour’s repeated U-turns, Mr Norris said: “I make no apology for being able to grab hold of the system that when we left in July wasn’t going to exclude rape offences, child sex offences, and now those who have taken lives.

“I do recognise, and I would say to victims, that I know that’s created uncertainty and I do apologise to them.

“But I hope they would understand that it’s been done with noble purpose.”

And in comments that sparked anger, Mr Norris said: “He jumped on the point of business as usual.

“The point I’m trying to make here is this Parliament has changed legislation. So the Sentencing Act is the basis on which standard determinate sentences will be governed, and that will be the case for the foreseeable future.

“I have no intention of going any further.”

The Labour Justice Secretary vowed to deport foreign criminals as soon as they are sentenced.

But these are likely to be so-called lower-level offenders.

Mr Norris said: “Next year we will begin removing foreign national offenders serving determinate sentences immediately after sentencing.

“But the most dangerous – such as those already excluded from Sentencing Act changes – will still be required to serve prison time before being deported.

“And I want to be clear that all removed offenders will be barred from returning to the UK for life.

“Because deportation is an anchor of that punishment.”