Britain’s Labour government is under pressure to pause its new prisons’ early release scheme. On Tuesday night, July 7th, Labour MPs in parliament abstained on a vote drafted to prevent the release of child sex offenders—including grooming gang members, paedophiles, and rapists—before the end of their sentences.
Now, the victims’ commissioner for England and Wales and the domestic abuse commissioner have joined forces to call on the government to pause its new early release scheme. According to the victims’ commissioner:
I was repeatedly assured victims would be well informed and safeguarded before offenders were released early. Those assurances have not been delivered. I have called for early release to be halted until those protections are in place. Victim safety cannot be an afterthought.
The issue hinges on the old version of the policy, which led to the ‘emergency’ early release of more than 38,000 prisoners to ‘free up’ prison spaces (with exemptions for those convicted of domestic abuse or terrorism, among other serious offences). Under the leadership of Justice Secretary David Lammy, there could be a new policy of emergency releases with few of the previous exemptions.
Controversy around the policy has been heightened by the apparent inability of UK authorities to deport Rochdale rape gang leader Shabir Ahmed on his release from prison this month—something that originally was not going to happen until 2036.
