Burnham Orders Review of Early Release Scheme Set to Free 5,000+ Prisoners, Concedes He Cannot Fully Reverse It

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced on July 22, 2026, that he will review the prisoner early release scheme set to free over 5,000 prisoners—including killers, rapists, and sex offenders—in September 2026. Burnham stated he cannot fully reverse the policy, which was passed under the Sentencing Act in January 2026 and lowers the release point for serious offenders from two-thirds to half of their sentence. The scheme has no exemptions for domestic abuse or terrorism convictions. Burnham attributed the overcrowding crisis to a decade of underinvestment in the prison estate.