Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he will review the early prisoner release policy, tackling one of the most politically sensitive issues he inherited on only his second day in office. Speaking to reporters in Bath on 22 July 2026, Burnham said he could not promise to scrap the scheme but committed to examining it in detail alongside the Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood (BBC News).

"I can't say that I can change the policy completely, but I will look at it in detail before we go further forward," Burnham said. He added: "I want to assure myself that everything has been looked at before this policy proceeds, and I can give that assurance that every single part of this I will look into with the justice secretary" (BBC News).

The early release scheme has been running since September 2024, when tens of thousands of inmates were let out early to free up space in overcrowded prisons. The legal basis is the Sentencing Act, passed by Sir Keir Starmer's government earlier in 2026, which allows certain offenders to spend a shorter portion of their sentence in custody before being released (BBC News).

Burnham acknowledged the pressures behind the policy, telling reporters there was "pressure on prisons places" and that past failure to invest in the prison system had created "an unacceptable situation" (BBC News).

The political sensitivity was sharpened by the case of Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, who were sentenced to 13 years in custody for the manslaughter of police officer Andrew Harper. Both could be released early under the Sentencing Act. Harper's mother said the prospect felt like an "insult" (BBC News).

The Burnham premiership's first 48 hours were further complicated by a video clip of the Prime Minister and Justice Secretary Mahmood discussing early prisoner release, which drew controversy. In the footage, Mahmood replied "No, he's not" when asked whether a particular offender was being released early (SMH).

The early release issue had already been causing difficulty for senior Labour figures before Burnham entered Downing Street. Wes Streeting apologised after his comments about the policy were caught on an open microphone (BBC News).

Burnham was also asked about reports that he is considering exempting rapists and child groomers from the early release scheme. The BBC reported the exchange but Burnham's response has not been detailed in the public record (BBC News).

The broader context here is a prison system under sustained strain, with the Sentencing Act serving as a legislative fix for capacity shortfalls that pre-date the Burnham government. The previous administration under Starmer framed early release as a necessity rather than a choice, pointing to years of underinvestment in the prison estate. Burnham's language in Bath accepts that diagnosis while signalling, at minimum, a willingness to test whether the current scope of the scheme is defensible.

For Westminster watchers, several dynamics bear attention. Burnham has paired his review commitment with an explicit acknowledgment that he cannot "change the policy completely," a formulation that buys time without promising substantive change. The involvement of Mahmood as co-reviewer places the Justice Secretary at the centre of any recalibration, while the video controversy, though separate from the policy substance, keeps the issue in the headlines at a moment when a new prime minister would prefer to be setting the agenda.

The Harper case illustrates the sharpest political risk: that offenders convicted of serious violent crimes become the test cases by which the public judges the scheme. The reported consideration of exemptions for rapists and child groomers suggests the government is alert to that risk, though no firm proposal has been confirmed. How broadly any exemption might be drawn, and whether it would apply across all four nations of the UK or only in England and Wales where sentencing is reserved to Westminster, will be among the questions the review must resolve.