More than 9,000 domestic abusers are set to be released from prison early within three years under Labour's early release scheme, according to analysis by the Conservative Party. The figures show 3,000 perpetrators could be freed annually before completing their full sentences.
The projection follows the Prime Minister's decision to green-light the release of some of the worst criminals from prison early, though rapists and the most serious sex offenders are excluded. Andy Burnham had paused the scheme after it emerged the killers of PC Andrew Harper would be among those freed.
Domestic abuse victims, charities and Burnham's own MPs criticised the government for allowing thousands of abusers back onto Britain's streets before their jail terms end.
According to the Conservative analysis, 9,371 of these criminals could be out of prison by the end of this Parliament in 2029. Once free, they would be fitted with electronic tags to track their movements and alert authorities if they leave set zones.
Political and charity reaction
Shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy called it "disgraceful" that domestic abusers are eligible for early release even with tagging measures in place. "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," he said.
Reform UK's equality spokesman Suella Braverman accused Labour of "throwing thousands of traumatised victims to the wolves." She said: "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."
Domestic Abuse Commissioner Dame Nicole Jacobs said: "If these figures are anywhere near the level of abusers set to be let out, then it is critical the Government is transparent about the scale of releases, so we can be confident the right level of resource is in place to keep victims safe."
Backbench criticism of Burnham
Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent South Allison Gardner said: "For survivors, the prospect of an abusive partner being released early is frightening, and their safety must come first." Sarah Champion, the Labour MP for Rotherham, said: "With patchy rehabilitation in prisons, and less time served, there is no reassurance that these manipulative aggressors will have changed."
The PC Harper case and the policy pause
Last month the Prime Minister paused the prisoner release reforms after learning that two men convicted of killing PC Andrew Harper, 28, would have benefited. Both were passengers in a car that dragged the officer down a road after he responded to a burglary report in 2019.
Following a backlash, Burnham announced that no prisoners would be released under the scheme, which is designed to ease pressure on overcrowded prisons, until an urgent review had been carried out. The Prime Minister said ministers would examine the policy in detail to ensure public safety remained the overriding priority before any changes were implemented.
This week PC Harper's family learned that two of his killers remain eligible for early release after the review. Aileen O'Connor, chairman of the Thames Valley Police Federation, called the move a betrayal of his legacy and vowed to launch a legal challenge.
How the release scheme works
Under the scheme, which takes effect in October, criminals who faced serving two-thirds of their sentence before being considered for release will now be let out after only half their term. Less serious offenders will be released after serving a third of their sentence instead of half.
Tory peer Baroness Bertin, co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on domestic violence, said "lives will certainly be lost if this [scheme] isn't thought through properly," adding that the threat abusers can pose to victims on release cannot be underestimated.
Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones insisted anyone eligible for early release would be "under the strictest licensing arrangements." Government data showed a 28 per cent increase in offenders being recalled to prison this year after breaking the terms of their licence agreements.
Charity warning and disputed figures
Alice Russell-Harris, of the abuse charity Refuge, said: "The PM took on the mission to halve violence against women. This decision risks undermining that commitment."
Domestic abuse is not categorised as a specific offence, making it difficult to estimate the true extent of abusers up for release. The Conservatives used Ministry of Justice data on people prosecuted for breach of a restraining order, stalking, controlling or coercive behaviour, or intentional strangulation to calculate who would be eligible.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "This is a speculative figure. It wrongly assumes prison population and sentencing patterns will remain unchanged throughout Parliament, while also counting people who have not yet committed offences."
Abusers freed who went on to reoffend
Leonidas Georgalla, 54, was jailed for 20 months in 2008 in New Zealand for driving wildly while his then-wife clung to the car bonnet before falling and fracturing her skull. After his release he moved to Britain, began a relationship with Kathleen John, 39, and was later banned by police from contacting her after he began beating her. He was jailed for 12 years in November 2023 for killing Ms John, an NHS nurse who fell from a third-floor window trying to escape him. Detective Inspector John Marriott said: "Leonidas Georgalla is a danger to women... At the time of Kathleen's death, there was a restraining order against him for previous abuse she had suffered. He had been convicted of domestic violence in other countries."
Mark Brazant, 50, who has paranoid schizophrenia, ambushed married mother Josephine Conlon, 36, six days after his release from HMP Thameside in December 2019, slashing her across the face and neck and narrowly missing her jugular vein. He had been jailed for three offences of battery and one of common assault, all against lone women, and was supposed to be escorted to a secure address in Ealing, west London, but instead stalked Mrs Conlon as she pushed her baby in a pram. Giving evidence at his trial, Mrs Conlon said:
"I remember him being above me. I think from that original shove your mind goes into overdrive trying to [understand] what is happening. I remember thinking he had pushed me into the driveway because he was going to rape me, but he didn't, he just started hitting me. There were lots of blows and I realised I was being stabbed. I was screaming a lot because I was not on the road and I wanted someone to hear me. I was ducking a lot and trying to get away."
Brazant was convicted of attempted murder and jailed for life at the Old Bailey in 2022, and ordered to be detained in a mental hospital for 11 years.
David McCorkell, 61, murdered his partner Diane Dyer, 61, in south London in 2019, inflicting 71 injuries and strangling her in what his Old Bailey trial heard was an "orgy of violence." McCorkell had 22 previous convictions and was jailed in 2002 for robbery after beating a woman in a hospital, but was not released until 2015 because he was viewed as such a threat to women. He was jailed again in 2017 for 27 months for burglary, and began dating Ms Dyer in 2019, murdering her three months later. Judge Richard Marks described McCorkell as an "evil bully" with "an appalling criminal record" and, jailing him for a minimum of 21 and a half years, said: "This was a savage, vicious and brutal killing." Prosecutor Allison Hunter KC said Ms Dyer, who lived alone, was "extremely vulnerable prior to her relationship and during her relationship."
Shaine March, 47, murdered his girlfriend Alana Odysseos, 32, who was eight weeks pregnant, in July 2024. He had previously stabbed a 17-year-old to death in 2000, was released on licence in 2013, recalled that year after assaulting his then-pregnant girlfriend, and released again in February 2018. Probation services were told of his relationship with Ms Odysseos but stopped monitoring him after he said the relationship had ended amicably. On July 22, 2024, March stabbed her 19 times with a kitchen knife and was jailed for 42 years at the Old Bailey last October, later increased to a whole life order after the Attorney General said the term was unduly lenient.
Prosecutors said that in the months before her death, Ms Odysseos told friends and family that March had become violent and abusive. When arrested on suspicion of murder, he shouted "I stabbed her, I killed her" and "I don't regret nothing... allow me to rot in jail. I don't ever want to come out." Samantha Yelland, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "His previous offending revealed a pattern of emotional and physical abuse, and he showed no remorse when he was being arrested." March was also convicted of assault in 1995.
