The policy - now paused - would have meant thousands of prisoners in England and Wales being eligible for earlier release. Under the scheme, which was due to start in phases from September:

• Offenders serving standard fixed sentences, who were due to be released after 50% of their term, would leave jail after serving 33%
• Serious sexual and violent offenders on fixed terms, who would have been released at 66% of that sentence, would be released after 50%
• These offenders would be intensively supervised but could lose the privilege of being out if they don't make progress towards rehabilitation
• The most serious offenders - including life prisoners and those who are subjected to extended monitoring - are not eligible under the scheme

Earlier this month, a number of grooming gang survivors wrote to MPs asking them to exclude sexual offenders from the early release scheme.

The letter, which was signed by five women from Yorkshire and the mother of a late victim from Rochdale, said that for any release under consideration or due to happen there should be "a clear legal duty" to tell victims "in good time".

The risks to themselves and their families should also be considered with "proper safeguarding and support in place before an offender is released", it added.

Sarah Wilson, one of the signatories, previously told the BBC she felt "let down all over again" after hearing that two of her attackers could be eligible for early release.

Seven men were convicted of offences against Sarah, from Rotherham, who has waived her right to anonymity.

• Read more about the letter in our news story

"It's such a relief that we've been heard," says Jade Belgrove, a survivor of sexual assault who has been campaigning against the early release scheme.

She tells BBC News that when she received a letter informing her that her attacker might be released early "it was horrific".

Belgrove says it even led her to question whether reporting the assault in the first place was worth it.

"I've had to find everything within myself to stand up and get my justice," she explains. "Then to feel like it was being completely taken away from me, I felt lost and silenced all over again."

While Belgrove says she understands overcrowding is an issue in prisons, she stresses "victims should never come second to that" and tells Prime Minister Andy Burnham to "put survivors at the front" of the upcoming review of the early release scheme.

Sima Kotecha
Senior UK correspondent

As we've reported a little earlier, our correspondent has been speaking to prison staff reacting to Andy Burnham's announcement.

Another senior prison staffer messages to say: "This is a good decision because we need to properly evaluate the risk some of these prisoners could pose if released in the autumn. Public safety must come first."

"The real problem is the lack of staff who have to maintain control of our overcrowded jails. We just don’t have enough prison officers," they add.

Image source, Parliament TV

The minister who oversaw the controversial early release scheme resigned from government just a few days ago.

Lord James Timpson was appointed in July 2024 after leaving his job as CEO of the Timpson group, a business which provides key cutting and shoe repair services and employs hundreds of former prisoners.

But he stood down from the role on Monday, the same day Andy Burnham officially replaced Keir Starmer as prime minister.

Lord Timpson said it was an "honour" to serve in the post and leaves "our prisons and probation service in a much healthier and happier state than two years ago".

He did not give a specific reason for resigning, but it is understood he felt he had done as much as he could in the role.

Sima Kotecha
Senior UK correspondent

A prison officer tells me: “We’re super overcrowded - this isn’t great news.

"If we don’t let people out in September we could be at a critical point come November where we’re at full capacity.

"It's a bonkers decision."

Dominic Casciani
Home and legal correspondent

The pausing of the early release scheme comes after thousands of letters were sent to victims in recent weeks, warning them it was coming in - but those letters did not spell out when particular offenders could get out, triggering alarm and uncertainty.

Under the scheme, to help manage the prisons overcrowding crisis, most offenders on fixed terms would benefit from getting out of jail after serving a third of their sentence, rather than a half.

The rest would be spent in the community, where they would be monitored, and if they stepped out of line they could be returned to jail.

From 2 September offenders serving up to 19 months would get out earlier.

Two of the killers of PC Andrew Harper, who got 13 years a piece, would have benefited from the scheme from June 2027, when the longest fixed sentences would have been added to the scheme.

All of this is now in doubt. Ministers have the power to revise this timetable - but any more fundamental change would require a vote by MPs in Parliament.

Image source, PA Media

Andy Burnham's announcement today comes after the widow of PC Andrew Harper described the possible early release of prisoners as "deplorable".

PC Harper, 28, was killed in 2019 when he was dragged by a car down a country road as three teenagers fled the scene of a quad bike theft in Berkshire.

His mother recently received a letter from the Ministry of Justice warning that two of the killers - Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers - could be set free early.

PC Harper's wife, Lissie, said politicians were "making decisions from behind a desk that will have real and lasting consequences" for the families of victims.

Cole and Bowers were sentenced to 13 years in custody for manslaughter but could have been released early under the new Sentencing Act.

As our correspondent Dominic Casciani explains in the next post, they could have been eligible for early release from June next year.

Henry Long - who drove the car that dragged PC Harper - is not eligible for the release scheme because he received a more severe type of extended sentence that was excluded from the reforms.

Image source, PA Media

The prime minister says that no prisoners will be freed under the early release policy "until we have conducted an urgent review and done everything we can to minimise risk to the public".

In a statement this afternoon, Burnham says: “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.”

Prime Minister Andy Burnham says he will pause the plan which would have seen thousands of offenders in England and Wales eligible to be released earlier.

This is breaking news - we'll have more on this in our next few posts.