Nearly 10,000 domestic abusers set to be released within three years under Labour's early prison release scheme as terrified survivors speak out

Nearly 10,000 domestic abusers are set to walk free within three years under Labour's early prison release scheme.

Earlier this week, Mr Burnham blocked grooming gang rapists from upcoming changes to prison sentences as part of a push to protect the public from dangerous criminals.

He also said rapists will face tougher community supervision and a new GPS monitoring system.

The changes mean rape and child sexual offences will be added to the exclusions that were already in place for 18,000 offenders, including those who have been found by a court to be the most dangerous or anyone serving a life sentence.

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However, thousands of other criminals will be allowed to be freed, with some only having served a third of their sentence.

As a result, terrified survivors have railed against the plan to let 9,371 convicted abusers out by the end of this Parliament in 2029.

The released criminals would be tagged to track their movements and alert authorities for when they trespass set boundaries.

Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy ripped into the "disgraceful" early release of domestic abusers.

Mr Timothy said: "Labour had to be dragged into this U-turn on [excluding rapists from] early release after campaigning from victims.

"But it clearly does not go far enough and is putting victims' lives at risk.

"The clock is ticking... Labour need to ensure the remaining sex offenders and other serious criminals are excluded."

Reform UK's equality spokeswoman Suella Braverman took aim at Andy Burnham, accusing Labour of "throwing thousands of traumatised victims to the wolves".

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She added: "Not only is it deeply traumatising for these victims to know their attackers will be free to roam the streets nearby – many will be literally fearing for their life."

Meanwhile, Domestic Abuse Commissioner Dame Nicole Jacobs called on the Government to be "transparent" about the scale of early releases to ensure the number of resources handed out in victim support was adequate.

Following Mr Burnham's announcement yesterday, Conservative peer Baroness Bertin, co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on domestic violence, warned that "lives will certainly be lose" if the scheme "isn't thought through properly".

The Prime Minister has also fallen under significant scrutiny after it was revealed two men involved in the 2018 killing of police officer Andrew Harper were still likely to be up for early release.

He said: "I know there will be concerns about who will still be released early for other offences. I have pushed to the very limits of what is possible to do.

"I know I can look people in the eye and say to them there is nothing more I could have asked for without risking the prison system reaching capacity and collapsing within months."

The Prime Minister said "such an outcome would expose the public to enormous risk", inhibiting the police and courts, leaving Britain's entire justice system to "grind to a halt".

As a result, he announced a new package of support for victims who "must be placed at the heart of the justice system".

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