See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy DAVID CHURCHILL Published: 18:14 BST, 3 September 2026 | Updated: 21:22 BST, 3 September 2026
Child rapists could be among thousands of offenders set to be freed early under Labour's prison release scheme, it emerged today.The conviction of buggery was not among the offences blocked from qualifying for early release, analysis has found.While those convicted of serious offences such as manslaughter won't qualify after Prime Minister Andy Burnham intervened last week, the offence under which historic child abuse is still prosecuted in the courts was not included.Over the last decade, there have been 431 convictions of buggery offences, of which 22 alone came in the year ending March 2026.And 251 of the men convicted were given immediate custodial standard determinate sentences, the sentence type included in the Sentencing Act.Under the Act, brought in to tackle prison overcrowding, prisoners will be freed after serving as little as a third of their sentences if they were supposed to serve 40 per cent, or half if they were supposed to serve two-thirds.Around 4,500 offenders will be released gradually from next month, with more than half set to be freed before Christmas. This includes violent offenders and domestic abusers. Prime Minister Andy Burnham intervened last week to block some offenders, such as those convicted of manslaughter, from being released early but not child rapists Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones insisted during a round of broadcast interviews on Monday that offenders guilty of 'sexual offences of a child' would not be let out early under Labour's scheme.But she was today savaged by the Tories' shadow justice secretary, Nick Timothy, who said of the disclosure: 'Labour said they would not let paedophiles out early, and yet here we are.'Labour have completely failed to grasp the detail of their own scheme, and they have failed to grasp what it would mean for victims. It is an outrage.'It came as it emerged that an NHS surgeon who sexually abused a patient is eligible for early release despite ministers vowing to keep the 'most serious' sexual offenders behind bars.The woman, who can't be named for legal reasons, was assaulted at a London hospital in 2021 as she recovered from a back operation and couldn't physically move.Her doctor was convicted for 'sexual assault by penetration' of an adult, but will be let out after serving just half his seven-year term behind bars.The woman told LBC: 'I feel betrayed. I feel so angry.'A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: 'We inherited prisons on the brink of collapse and are pulling every lever possible to fix this, building 14,000 new places.'We've listened to victims and excluded a large number of serious offences from these measures, meaning dangerous criminals like those convicted of rape and certain child sex offences will stay behind bars for longer.'The Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor have been clear they wanted to go further but could not do so without risking the prison system collapsing within months.'
