Politics · 6 August 2026
Andy Burnham intervenes to block early prison release for grooming gang offenders
House of Commons via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-3.0)
The government is rushing to close a loophole that covers men charged before 2003 under older sexual abuse laws. The prime minister ordered an urgent review to ensure they stay behind bars instead of joining the 5,000 inmates leaving early this October. The wider overcrowding scheme also faces police pushback over two men jailed for killing PC Andrew Harper who remain eligible.
Reported by The Guardian · How we write briefs