Politics
Burnham keeps hundreds of criminals behind bars in extended early release exemptions
September 6, 2026 at 06:55 AM
Coverage
3 reports · over 504 hours
BNBBC News
Spaces in male prisons in England and Wales fall to lowest level of year, sources say
(opens the publisher’s site)
BNBBC News
Burnham gets the early prison release changes he wanted - but at what cost?
(opens the publisher’s site)
BNBBC News
Andy Burnham faces unpopularity test over prisons dilemma
(opens the publisher’s site)Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced he will keep hundreds of criminals behind bars who would otherwise have been released early, extending the list of ineligible offenders.
- Burnham has announced he will keep hundreds of criminals behind bars who would otherwise have been released early.
- Burnham cited ending indefinite sentences and deporting foreign criminals as measures enabling the change.
- The Ministry of Justice had warned that exempting more prisoners risked prisons reaching capacity and collapsing.
- Burnham said he had not accepted that it is impossible to do more and asked the justice secretary to fast-track a plan for freeing up prison places.
Latest developments
- Sep 6 — Available spaces in male prisons in England and Wales fell to about 1,500 as of 1 September, down from 3,040 at the start of June, according to sources cited by the BBC.
- Sep 6 — Justice Secretary Alex Norris told the Commons the early-release scheme is needed to maintain confidence in British justice and outlined plans to hold some 18-year-olds in young offenders' institutions longer to ease overcrowding.