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A grooming gang victim is amongst the people who have mistakenly received letters concerning the early release of perpetrators from prison, the home secretary has said.
Shabana Mahmood told MPs on the Home Affairs committee that the Ministry of Justice sent a “series of letters” incorrectly in the wake of the government’s plans to release criminals from prison before they serve their full sentences, causing a “huge amount of fear among victims”.
She was asked by Conservative MP Robbie Moore about claims grooming gang survivor and campaigner Fiona Goddard had been told her perpetrator was set to be released early.
“I think firstly, in respect of what happened to Miss Goddard, my understanding is she was sent a letter wrongly about the circumstances of release of one of the perpetrators, one of the criminals that offended against her, and that was not a case of an early release,” Ms Mahmood said in response, adding she would write to the MP to confirm the details.
She added: “I think there has been a problem over at the Ministry of Justice, where a series of letters have been sent out incorrectly, causing a huge amount of fear amongst victims.
“I know that the new Lord Chancellor is very focused on making sure that the MoJ is able to give, well, apologise where the wrong letters have been sent, and then give very clear information to victim survivors about what is going to happen in their cases.”
The Independent has contacted the MoJ for a comment.
Prime minister Andy Burnham has faced a huge amount of backlash over the government’s plans to free prisoners earlier in their sentences to tackle overcrowding in jails across England and Wales.
The rules of the current scheme allow some prisoners to be released after serving 40 per cent of their fixed-term sentence, rather than the usual 50 per cent, and the Sentencing Act 2026, which became law earlier this year, allows for an expansion of the early release scheme by reducing the threshold from 40 per cent of a fixed-term sentence to a third.
Following public pressure, the prime minister later excluded anyone in prison for rape, serious child sexual offences and grooming from being released earlier.
At the end of August, Mr Burnham also said the government will exclude prisoners from sentencing changes if they were jailed for offences such as manslaughter, causing death by dangerous driving, and causing or allowing the death of a child.
Asked if he would apologise to victims and their families for being put through “significant distress” by the prospect of early release, Mr Burnham said: “I do understand their anguish.”
He added: “I listened to what they were saying – I came in and asked for changes to the early release scheme, and we excluded rape, grooming and child sex offences.
“But hearing those voices, I wasn’t satisfied and I pushed the system to go further. And as a result of that, we are going further and excluding death by dangerous driving and other manslaughter offences.
“So, I hope now she can give that certainty to the family – give them also my best wishes.
“I believe we’re coming to the right position and I can assure her that the Justice Secretary (Alex Norris) will be on top of this situation, so that we ensure we are never in this position again.”