More than 700 sex offenders held indefinitely are “to be freed” under Labour’s prison reform plans despite Andy Burnham U-turning on elements of the scheme.
The abolition of so-called imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentences will lead to hundreds of sex criminals being “let loose”, the Conservative Party has warned.
Mr Timothy said: “Labour wants to abolish IPP sentences, but this would mean up to 700 dangerous sex offenders being let loose on the streets.
“Two in three IPP prisoners are there for violent or sexual crimes, and they have not been released because the Parole Board says it is not safe to do so.
He told the Mail: “Labour must rule out releasing these dangerous sex offenders, and instead focus on building more prisons, expanding capacity, and maximising the space that we have.”
IPP sentences, short for Imprisonment for Public Protection, were introduced in 2005 and abolished for new crimes in 2012.
Many criminals previously given the sentence have remained locked up, as they have been deemed not safe to be released by the Parole Board.
Their sentences have no fixed end date.
Of the 700 prisoners, 379 individuals have never been freed, while the remaining 321 were returned to prison for either committing new offences or violating their parole conditions.
Additionally, 791 offenders serving Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences were convicted of violent crimes against individuals, including grievous bodily harm (GBH) and assault.
Furthermore, 522 were convicted of robbery, 77 of arson or criminal damage, and 65 of carrying weapons.
Mr Norris pledged he would abolish all remaining IPP sentences when speaking to MPs earlier this month.
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He said: “They were rightly abolished a decade ago, but offenders are still locked up for far longer than envisaged, often for crimes that, if committed today, would see them spend much less time in jail. Of those who have never been released, 99 per cent are beyond the tariff imposed by the court, and 80 per cent have served 10 years or more beyond it.
“The number of IPP offenders has been reducing, but the Prime Minister and I want to go further. We will soon bring forward legislation to end the sentence, once and for all, by the end of this Parliament.”
The comments come after a series of U-turns by the Prime Ministers following outrage over the controversial scheme.
Mr Burnham first moved to exclude rapists and other serious sex offenders from the programme.
However, under his new guidelines, the killers of PC Andrew Harper and Grooming Gang perpetrators would be free to go, forcing him into a second backtrack.
Mr Burnham said: “I know how strongly people feel about this issue. I understand the concern and anger because I share it. That’s why I took action during my first weeks as Prime Minister to block some of the very worst in society being released before they should.
“We moved quickly to block vile criminals who commit rape, sexually abuse children and groom vulnerable young people.”
An MoJ spokeswoman told GB News: “While we must end the unfairness of these sentences for those who have more than served their time, we know some IPP prisoners will still pose a risk to communities.
“That’s why we will work cross-party and with experts in this field to make sure we get this right. It will take time, and public safety will be at the centre of our approach.”
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