Prisoner Early Release

Lord Keen of Elie Excerpts

Wednesday 1st July 2026 Lords Chamber

The previous Government left prisons on the verge of collapse. This Government are safely delivering the reforms needed to end the cycle of capacity crises and protect the British public”.

[Lord Keen of Elie (Con)]

My Lords, victims of rape and child sexual exploitation have now received letters informing them that their attackers and abusers are soon to be released from custody, much earlier than would have been expected. Yet during the recent passage of the Sentencing Act, which paved the way for such reductions in custody, Ministers repeatedly assured Parliament that the most serious offenders would not benefit from these changes. Today we have been told that some convicted rapists and child abusers will be released only half way through their custodial sentence. I therefore ask the Minister two simple questions. First, does he consider that rapists and child abusers are not serious offenders? Secondly, will he explain why the assurances the Government gave to Parliament during the passage of the Sentencing Act have been so swiftly abandoned?

[The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Timpson) (Lab)]

First, I would like to express my sincere sympathy with the victims of all these appalling crimes. Convictions for child sex offences are at a record high, and we as a Government have made grooming an aggravated factor so that perpetrators face longer sentences. Without the Sentencing Act, the courts would be at risk of grinding to a halt, preventing sex offenders and others from being brought to justice. We have acted to avert that crisis. We are delivering the largest prison expansion since the Victorians, with 14,000 extra places by 2031, and we have already delivered 3,100 since taking office. But if we do not tackle this problem of prisons running out of space, we will be back to where we were again. Two years ago, when I first took on this job, there were some very dark days in the Ministry of Justice. When you have fewer than 100 prison places left, that is dangerous for victims and future victims.