MP welcomes exclusions from early release scheme

A Wolverhampton MP has welcomed Prime Minister Andy Burnham's announcement that sex offenders will be barred from the prison early release scheme.

The government confirmed on Monday that prisoners who committed rape, grooming, and serious child sex offences would be excluded from the scheme for England and Wales.

Warinder Juss, Labour MP for Wolverhampton West, said protecting the public and standing up for victims "must always come first".

"I welcome the prime minister's decision to ensure that offenders convicted of rape, serious child sexual offences and grooming crimes are excluded from these sentencing changes," he said.

"The government has taken the responsible decision to protect victims while preventing the prison system from reaching breaking point," he added in a statement.

The government is planning to release about 5,000 offenders in England and Wales early under the Sentencing Act 2026, in an effort to make space in overcrowded jails.

Under the changes, people sentenced for rape and serious child sex offences, including grooming, will now not be eligible for early release from October.

Burnham had launched a review of the scheme after he became prime minister last month, and said he wanted to make more exclusions, but overcrowding had prevented this.

"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," the prime minister said earlier this week.

"But it's not possible without the prison system reaching capacity and collapsing, which would put public safety at much greater risk."

The changes mean the offences will be added to the exclusions that were already in place for 18,000 offenders, the government said, including those who had been found by a court to be the most dangerous or anyone serving a life sentence.

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