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The UK government revised its early release scheme for prisoners in England and Wales, excluding those convicted of rape, serious child sex offences, and grooming. The scheme, originally planned for September, will now start in October. Around 5,000 prisoners, including two of the men convicted for the death of PC Andrew Harper, will still be eligible for early release. The Justice Secretary acknowledged the decision caused harm but said the alternative was prisons ceasing to function. Prison capacity is at 97% with just over 2,000 spaces available. Victims' families expressed anger and disappointment. The opposition criticised the government's handling, while the Prime Minister defended the decision on social media while on holiday. Prison governors expressed concern about the reduced headroom from the revised scheme, and the government's long-term plan involves building new cells and managing offenders in the community, though the probation service's readiness is uncertain.

Key Claims by Channel

Wednesday 22 July 2026

Claim
Reported by a few · 2–3 channels
PC Andrew Harper was killed in 2019 after being dragged by a car while responding to a burglary.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Not reported by BBC Two	Reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
Three teenagers were convicted of manslaughter: Henry Long (driver, 16 years), Albert Bowers and Jesse Cole (passengers, 13 years each).	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Not reported by BBC Two	Reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
Bowers and Cole may be eligible for early release under new sentencing guidelines that allow release after serving 50% of their sentence instead of two-thirds.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Not reported by BBC Two	Reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
The early release scheme is part of government plans to ease prison overcrowding.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Not reported by BBC Two	Reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
PC Harper's widow, Lissie Harper, described the possible early release as deplorable and said it undermines justice.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Not reported by BBC Two	Reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he will review the policy with the Justice Secretary.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Not reported by BBC Two	Reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
The new Sentencing Act is set to come into force in September 2026.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Not reported by BBC Two	Not reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
The main perpetrator, Henry Long, is not eligible for early release.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Not reported by BBC Two	Reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
The early release scheme will see hundreds of inmates released early from September, including some convicted of serious sexual offences.	Reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One		Not reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
Only on one channel
The government said without decisive action prisons will run out of space, leaving nowhere for serious offenders.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One		Not reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
The Sentencing Act passed in 2026 reduced the proportion of sentence served in prison from 40% or 50% to 33% for some offenders.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One		Not reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
PC Harper's mother, Debbie Anderlehm, said the early release makes her feel sick and is a slap in the face.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by BBC Two	Not reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
The Ministry of Justice issued a statement saying the prison crisis was inherited and they are building new prison places.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by BBC Two	Not reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
Government sources stated that any pause will be operational only and will not delay the September changes.	Reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by BBC Two	Not reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News

Tuesday 4 August 2026

Claim
Reported by a few · 2 channels
The government revised the early release scheme to exclude rape, serious child sex offences, and grooming, affecting around 1,000 such prisoners.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Reported by ITV
Prison capacity is at 97% with around 2,000 to 2,400 places free.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Reported by ITV
PC Andrew Harper's mother described the plans as insulting and said he would be devastated.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Reported by ITV
Only on one channel
The scheme will start in October, a month later than planned.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Reported by ITV
Around 5,000 people, including PC Andrew Harper's killers, will still be released early.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Reported by ITV
The Justice Secretary Alex Norris acknowledged the decision created harm but said the alternative was prisons ceasing to function.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Reported by ITV
The opposition leader said 60,000 prisoners were released under Labour in two years compared to 10,000 under the Conservatives in 14 years.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Reported by ITV
The Prime Minister is on holiday and posted a defence of his position on social media.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Reported by ITV
The domestic abuse commissioner said releasing domestic violence perpetrators early puts lives at risk.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Reported by ITV
Reform UK agreed with the government that the Conservatives caused the prisons crisis and have plans for deporting foreign national prisoners.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Reported by ITV
Prison governors fear they will have to deal with hundreds more prisoners than expected because the revised scheme creates less headroom.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Not reported by ITV
The government plans to build 14,000 additional cells, but projections show they would be full by around the next general election.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Not reported by ITV
The government hopes community management of offenders will work, but the readiness of the probation service is uncertain.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Not reported by ITV

This is a cross-channel consensus summary, not an objective account. Consensus can be uniformly wrong, or omit what only one channel covered.