Burnham Excludes Rape and Child Sexual Offence Convicts from Early Prison Release

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has excluded prisoners convicted of rape, serious child sexual offences, and grooming from England and Wales's early-release scheme. The decision reduces planned early releases from 6,000 to 5,000 over 10 months beginning October 2026. The scheme aims to ease chronic overcrowding after successive governments added just 500 prison places between 2010 and 2024 while closing 23 prisons.