Kemi lays down gauntlet to Burnham as she demands Labour stop early release scheme

By CLAIRE ELLICOTT WHITEHALL EDITOR Published: 22:00, 27 July 2026 | Updated: 22:00, 27 July 2026 Kemi Badenoch has challenged Andy Burnham to prove he is serious about stopping the early release of prisoners. The Tory leader will call for him to introduce emergency legislation to prevent the release of rapists, paedophiles and other serious offenders. The Prime Minister paused the scheme last week after it emerged that the killers of police officer Andrew Harper were being considered for early release. Around 6,000 prisoners are due to be let out in September under the early release scheme to ease prison crowding. Killers, rapists and sex offenders are among those due to be freed, according to reports. But Mr Burnham has now ordered a review into the policy and said no prisoners will be let out until the Government has done 'everything we can to minimise risk to the public'. In a press conference with families of the victims, Mrs Badenoch will demand that the new PM permanently halt the scheme. She has called for the move before September 2 – the date when Labour's Sentencing Act comes into force. Lissie Harper, the widow of hero PC Andrew Harper, last night blasted Labour's soft justice prisoner release scheme as 'deplorable' However, the Ministry of Justice said that there was no need for emergency legislation as the power to halt the scheme lies with the Justice Secretary. Mrs Badenoch said: 'Andy Burnham must prove he is serious by acting now to stop Labour's early release scheme. 'Instead, in an echo of Starmer, he has announced another Government review. It's not good enough. Without emergency legislation, dangerous violent and sexual offenders will be released at the start of September. 'The Conservatives have fought this dangerous scheme from day one. 'It's all well and good cutting bills and bus fares, but that pales into insignificance when paedophiles and rapists are about to be let out on our streets. Burnham needs to show us he's ready to take the tough decisions.' But a Labour Party spokesman said: 'The Conservatives have some nerve. During their 14 years in office, they shut 23 prisons, created just 482 jail places, and granted early release to 10,000 prisoners – leaving the criminal justice system teetering on verge of collapse.' The PM ordered a review after the family of PC Harper reacted with fury after it emerged that two of his killers were eligible for early release. The 28-year-old died in 2019 after being dragged by a car down a country road as three teenagers fled the scene of a quad bike theft in Berkshire. Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, who were passengers in the vehicle and both 17 at the time, were sentenced to 13 years in custody for manslaughter. This meant that they could have become eligible for early release under the new Sentencing Act after serving half of their sentences. Mrs Badenoch will say that the Conservatives have been campaigning against the scheme since its introduction in 2024. She said her Party would back fast-tracked emergency legislation to halt it. In July, the Tories won a Parliamentary vote to exempt sexual offenders from early release.