UK PM Burnham may exempt child sex offenders from early release scheme

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham is considering exempting child sex offenders and other serious sexual abuse perpetrators from a controversial early prison release scheme as ministers race to finalise safeguards before the policy takes effect in September.The review comes as the government struggles to balance mounting prison overcrowding with concerns over public safety and victims' rights.Government reviews exemptions before rolloutAccording to The Guardian, the UK government is expected to decide within the next 24 hours which categories of offenders should be excluded from the early release scheme, with ministers warning that prisons could run out of space if no action is taken.The policy, introduced under the Sentencing Act 2026, aims to ease severe overcrowding by allowing some serious offenders to be released after serving half of their sentence instead of two-thirds, while less serious offenders could become eligible for release after serving one-third of their sentence instead of 40 per cent.According to reports, Burnham is particularly keen to ensure that child rapists and perpetrators of serious sexual abuse are not released early after victims' groups and support organisa...