READ MORE: Labour MPs 'should to back bid to block early release of offenders See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy KEMI BADENOCH - LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION Published: 22:15 BST, 6 July 2026 | Updated: 23:52 BST, 6 July 2026
No rapist, paedophile or child groomer should ever be let out early from prison.This is plain common sense.But Labour's Sentencing Act means many offenders – including the perpetrators of the very worst violent and sexual crimes – are being released much earlier than their court sentences.Last month, Fiona Goddard, a survivor of grooming gang abuse, received a letter from the Prison Service informing her that the men responsible for her rape and sexual assaults could be released earlier than expected.Men like these should be locked up and the key thrown away.Instead, under Labour, they're getting out of prison early. It's disgusting, abhorrent and will be opposed by anyone with any shred of decency.From the outset, Conservatives opposed the Sentencing Act.We believe in common sense and that the interests of those who have suffered violent and sexual crime must always come before the convenience of those who have committed those crimes. Kieran Mullan, Conservative shadow justice minister, tried to stop rapists, grooming gang offenders, paedophiles and other dangerous sexual predators benefiting from early release. Fiona Goddard (left), a grooming gang survivor, attends a press conference with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp If Andy Burnham is serious about standing up for victims then he should put his money where his mouth is and vote with the Conservatives, writes Kemi BadenochLabour and the Liberal Democrats voted against his amendment. Even worse, Labour ministers assured victims that the most serious offenders would not be released early.Fiona has shown extraordinary courage in talking about what happened to her and she is one of the reasons why I have pressed the Government for the past year to ensure a proper national statutory inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal was carried out.It is outrageous that because of Labour's Sentencing Act, Fiona and other survivors of abuse are now having to relive the trauma they thought the justice system had at last recognised.This week, many of these courageous women will be coming to Parliament to tell MPs directly what they think of this situation.And to coincide with their arrival, the Conservatives will force a vote in Parliament to prevent the early release of rapists, grooming gang offenders, paedophiles and any other serious sexual offenders.Andy Burnham has said he doesn't think sexual abusers should be released early. He is about to become prime minister.If he's serious about standing up for victims then he should put his money where his mouth is and vote with the Conservatives, and tell the MPs courting his favour to do the same. This should not be a partisan issue.Women and children must not bear the consequences of a government that has failed to get a grip of the prison capacity crisis. That is just common sense.Kemi Badenoch is the Conservative Leader of the Opposition.
