Prime Minister Andy Burnham has ordered all forms of manslaughter to be excluded from forthcoming changes to prison release arrangements, widening the list of serious offences that will not benefit from reduced time behind bars.
The move means offenders convicted of manslaughter, death by dangerous driving, death by drunk driving, causing or allowing the death of a child and specified historic child sexual offences will be barred from the Sentencing Act 2026 progression changes.
Downing Street said the decision would keep hundreds more offenders in prison for longer and confirmed that the men convicted of the manslaughter of PC Andrew Harper will not have their sentences shortened under the new arrangements.
Burnham widens exemptions again
The intervention represents a significant further change to the Government's sentencing reforms following pressure from victims, bereaved families and campaigners.
Earlier in August, Burnham and Justice Secretary Alex Norris excluded rape, serious child sexual offences and grooming offences from the progression model following a review ordered after Burnham entered Downing Street.
At that stage, however, manslaughter and causing death by dangerous driving remained within the new release arrangements. A House of Commons Library briefing published on 7 August explicitly recorded that the Sentencing Act changes would still apply to those offences where an offender was serving a standard determinate sentence.
The Government has now reversed that position for all forms of manslaughter and widened the exemptions to additional unlawful killing and historic child-sex offences.
PC Andrew Harper's killers will not receive shorter sentences
One of the most politically sensitive cases affected by the decision is the killing of Thames Valley Police officer PC Andrew Harper.
Downing Street confirmed that the offenders responsible for his manslaughter will not have their sentences shortened by the forthcoming changes.
Thames Valley Police welcomed the announcement, saying concerns about the potential impact of the release arrangements on PC Harper's family, colleagues and the wider policing community had been repeatedly raised with ministers.
Chief Constable Jason Hogg said the confirmation would be welcomed across policing and could also provide reassurance to other victims and bereaved families.
Historic child-sex offences also added
The latest intervention goes beyond manslaughter.
Downing Street says historic grooming and child-sex offences will also be excluded, alongside death by dangerous or drunk driving and causing or allowing the death of a child.
The Government had already barred rape, serious child sexual offences and grooming offences from the progression model on 4 August.
Life prisoners, prisoners serving extended determinate sentences and offenders considered sufficiently dangerous by the courts to receive those sentences were already outside the progression changes.
What the early-release changes actually do
The Sentencing Act 2026 progression model applies to offenders serving standard determinate sentences rather than every prisoner.
Under the wider reforms, many prisoners serving those sentences would otherwise become eligible for automatic release after serving a smaller proportion of their custodial term.
The House of Commons Library says most qualifying standard determinate sentence prisoners will move to automatic release at one third of their sentence rather than the current 40% or halfway point. Some prisoners currently released at two thirds will instead move to the halfway point.
The reforms are due to come into force on 1 October 2026.
Release from custody does not end an offender's sentence. The remaining part is served in the community under licence and offenders can be recalled to prison if they breach their conditions.
Burnham says prison system is at its limit
Burnham said he wanted to go further but argued that excluding substantially more offenders would risk overwhelming a prison estate already operating close to capacity.
The Prime Minister said the system had been pushed to the limits of what was possible without risking prison collapse and consequent disruption to arrests and the courts.
The Government says adult male prisons are operating at around 98% capacity. It says more than 3,200 prison places have been built since it entered office and that 14,000 additional places are expected by 2031.
Ministers argue the Sentencing Act reforms are necessary to replace emergency measures and put the prison system on a more sustainable footing.
Tougher supervision outside prison
Alongside the new exemptions, Downing Street has promised tougher supervision for offenders released into the community.
The Government says greater use will be made of electronic tagging and restriction zones intended to prevent some sexual and violent offenders from approaching victims.
Burnham argued that offenders released from custody would therefore continue to face significant restrictions during the remainder of their sentence.
Further sentencing change on IPP prisoners
The announcement also contains a separate major commitment on Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences.
Burnham says the Government will work to end what he described as the injustice of IPP sentences during this Parliament. The sentence was abolished for new cases more than a decade ago, but some prisoners sentenced under the previous regime remain in custody.
Downing Street said work would begin immediately and on a cross-party basis, while acknowledging that reform would take time because of the need to balance fairness with public safety.
A clear Government U-turn on manslaughter
The manslaughter decision marks a clear change from the position earlier this month.
On 7 August, the House of Commons Library recorded that manslaughter and causing death by dangerous driving remained covered by the Sentencing Act changes after Burnham's initial review.
On 30 August, Downing Street formally announced that all forms of manslaughter and death by dangerous driving would instead be barred.
The central policy change is therefore now officially confirmed rather than based solely on newspaper reporting.
Sources
- 10 Downing Street: Prime Minister blocks hundreds more criminals from sentencing changes — 30 August 2026
- House of Commons Library: Changes to automatic prisoner release dates in England and Wales — 7 August 2026
- Ministry of Justice: Sentencing Act offence exclusions — 4 August 2026
- 10 Downing Street and Ministry of Justice: Rape, serious child sex and grooming offences barred from sentencing changes — 4 August 2026
- Thames Valley Police: Force welcomes confirmation PC Andrew Harper's killers will remain in prison — 30 August 2026