Former Home Office minister Jess Phillips has warned that Labour is failing women and girls with its early release scheme. Phillips, who quit as safeguarding minister under Keir Starmer, claimed yesterday Labour is "nowhere near the level of will and commitment it will actually take to halve" rocketing levels of violence directed at females.
Speaking on Sky's Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Phillips urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham this week to prioritise women's safety by blocking thousands of domestic abusers from being released from jail early. She stated that the Violence Against Women and Girls strategy would only reduce violence by about 25 per cent if everything in it were completed.
Government priorities and minister resignation
Phillips blamed government departments for focussing on other priorities while women and girls compromise on security. "I understand other government departments have other priorities, but it's not my job to be flexible," she said. "I have one job, and it is to stop women having to be flexible about their safety."
Sir Keir Starmer was elected on the promise of halving violence against women and girls within a decade, a commitment laid out in Labour's manifesto at the last general election. However, Phillips resigned from his government in May after deriding his lack of "gusto" in tackling the issue.
Phillips said on Wednesday that the new PM should "absolutely look at" making those guilty of coercive and controlling behaviour exempt from early release.
Exemptions and Conservative opposition response
The intervention comes as thousands of domestic abusers are set to be freed early from jail after Burnham gave the green light to a controversial scheme to ease overcrowding in prisons. Figures revealed by the Daily Mail last week show Burnham's decision could lead to more than 9,000 wife-beaters walking free before their sentences are up.
Shadow Home Office minister Alicia Kearns said yesterday that "even Jess Phillips now admits what victims have known all along: Labour's early release scheme is a danger to women and girls." Kearns stated that Labour has already let more than 70,000 criminals out of prison early, calling every release a choice that makes women less safe.
Kearns urged Labour to scrap the scheme immediately. She added that Conservatives would keep dangerous offenders behind bars, abolish the Sentencing Council, and return sentencing guidance to the Lord Chancellor to put protecting women and girls ahead of managing prison numbers.
