Rapists and serious child sex offenders, including those convicted of grooming offences, will be excluded from upcoming plans to release certain prisoners early.
Andy Burnham said he understood the “anxiety and distress” caused by the scheme and insisted he “wanted to go even further”, but that this would risk the collapse of the entire prison system. He assured the public that offenders will face tighter community supervision, including new GPS monitoring for rapists to restrict movements.
It comes after Mr Burnham paused plans to release prisoners early in September to ease overcrowding in jails following outcry from the public, including from survivors of sexual violence.
The scheme will now be delayed until October.
In an announcement on Monday night, the prime minister said: “Keeping the public safe is my top priority. That’s why I asked for an urgent review of the prisoner release scheme.
“I fully understand the anger, anxiety and distress that’s been caused. I’ve heard that loud and clear. That’s why we’re making significant changes: offenders who have been sentenced for rape, serious child sex offences and other grooming offences will be excluded from the changes.”
He added: “I want to be honest – I wanted to go even further as I know there will still be concerns about other offenders having their sentence shortened.
“But it’s not possible without the prison system reaching capacity and collapsing, which would put public safety at much greater risk.”
Mr Burnham said he also intends to introduce “much tougher” community measures including a “presumption” that all offenders are tagged, longer periods of supervision and new restriction zones for offenders.
Under changes in the Sentencing Act, some 6,000 offenders were set to be let out of prison in September after serving a third of their sentence – rather than half – in a bid to ease prison overcrowding.
Prisoners serving longer sentences of four years or more would be eligible for release at the halfway point of their term, rather than at two-thirds as had previously been the case.
The changes were due to be phased in, beginning with prisoners serving sentences of less than 575 days, going up to inmates jailed for 12 years or more being eligible for early release in June next year.
The government has said that, after listening to victims’ concerns, rapists and child sexual offenders will not be eligible for the sentencing changes.
These will be added to the exclusions already in place for 18,000 offenders, including those who have been found by a court to be the most dangerous or anyone serving a life sentence.
The government has also announced a new package of victim support, backed by £10m, to provide better trauma-informed contact.
A new national helpline will also be established and efforts made to contact all affected victims to offer information and support.
Mr Burnham added: “As a country, we haven’t invested in the prison estate when we should have, going back over a decade.
“This has created an unacceptable situation, with our adult male prisons now at 98 per cent capacity. For too long, the problems facing our prison system have been ignored – and it’s the victims who have been paying the price. That is not good enough.
“My government will deliver the fastest prison building programme since the Victorian era and do what’s necessary to fix the prison crisis.”
Labour aims to have 14,000 new prison places by 2031.
Mr Burnham has also asked justice secretary Alex Norris to look at how the UK can remove foreign offenders faster and in greater numbers, review outdated Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences and free up space in women’s prisons.
Mr Norris said: “The prime minister and I have reviewed these reforms, listened to the concerns and gone further to protect victims.
“These are decisions no minister would ever want to take, but it is right these sickening crimes are excluded from these reforms.
“Victims will also have access to better support and reassurance that offenders leaving prison face tougher supervision and punishment.”
Wider releases under the Sentencing Act have been delayed from September to October, giving probation staff time to plan for releases and to ensure victims can have a say in restrictions placed on offenders.
The changes also introduce a new progression model which will end automatic release for badly behaved offenders.
Those who break the rules or are violent behind bars face spending 100 per cent of their sentence locked up.
Shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy said the U-turn is a “victory for victims” but said it “doesn’t go far enough”.
Domestic abuse commissioner Dame Nicole Jacobs said not excluding domestic abusers is “wrong and puts victims lives at risk”.
She said: “It is critical that no abuser is released in October unless I am confident that victims’ safety is not being compromised.”