The UK government is facing significant criticism over plans to release thousands of prisoners, including violent offenders, as early as October under a scheme designed to alleviate prison overcrowding. The policy has drawn particular ire following revelations that Timothy Brehmer, a former police constable convicted of strangling his lover, Claire Parry, in 2020, could be freed after serving just half of his sentence.
Brehmer was jailed for ten-and-a-half years for manslaughter after a jury cleared him of murder. The sentence was later increased by the Court of Appeal, which found that insufficient weight had been given to aggravating factors, including Brehmer's initial lies about the incident and his conduct afterward. He was originally eligible to apply for parole after serving two-thirds of his sentence, which would have kept him incarcerated until at least 2029. However, the current early release scheme could see him walk free much sooner.
The case has drawn comparisons to the planned early release of two of the killers of PC Andrew Harper, who was killed in 2019. Harper's killers, sentenced to 13 years, could be released next year under similar early release provisions.
Critics argue that the early release scheme sends a dangerous message. Conservative home affairs spokesman Chris Philp stated that releasing Brehmer early is an "insult to her memory and sends a signal that this Labour Government doesn't take domestic killings and domestic abuse seriously." He called for the government to "urgently cancel their early release Act and introduce emergency legislation to ensure dangerous and serious criminals stay in prison."
Brehmer killed Claire Parry in a pub car park after she had revealed their ten-year affair to his wife. During the confrontation, Parry took Brehmer's phone and texted his wife. Brehmer claimed he strangled Parry accidentally during a struggle in his car, a narrative he later recanted when attempting to cover up the crime by claiming she had attacked him. Parry died from her injuries the day after the incident.
Ministry of Justice sources indicated that the government is addressing a prison system that was "on the brink of collapse" and is working to "fix this by building 14,000 new prison places, expanding electronic tagging and investing in probation services." The early release plan, which could see around 5,000 inmates freed in September, has been paused until at least October amid the mounting anger and is subject to an "urgent review."