Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced that the Government's planned early prisoner release scheme, due to begin in September, has been paused while ministers carry out an urgent review of the policy.
In a statement issued by Downing Street, Mr Burnham said public safety would remain the Government's overriding priority.
He said:
"Keeping the public safe will always be my top priority.
I am working closely with the new Justice Secretary and have instructed my team to put a pause on the changes that were due to start in September.
No prisoners will be let out under this policy until we have conducted an urgent review and done everything we can to minimise risk to the public.
Where changes are needed, we will not hesitate to make them."
The early release measures had been scheduled to come into force in September as part of the Government's response to continued pressure on prison capacity.
The Prime Minister's announcement means the scheme will not proceed as planned while the review is carried out. No timetable has yet been announced for the completion of the review or for any revised implementation date.
The decision follows growing public and political debate over the proposed changes and comes shortly after Andy Burnham appointed a new Justice Secretary as part of his wider ministerial reshuffle.
Further details of the review are expected to be announced by the Ministry of Justice in due course.
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