Burnham orders review of grooming gang early releases

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has ordered an "urgent" review to identify any grooming gang members who may be eligible to be freed from jail under the government's early release scheme. The announcement comes after Tory leader Kemi Badenoch raised concerns that child sex offenders could leave jail well before the end of their sentences. She pointed out that indecent assault was not included in the list of offences that the government said would be excluded from the early release scheme. Five men convicted of indecent assault as part of a historical grooming-gang case in Bradford are among the prisoners whose offences were not included in the list of exclusions. The prime minister's spokesperson said Burnham had asked the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to "conduct an in-depth review of cases to ensure that grooming cases were identified". "This work is happening urgently," Burnham's spokesperson said. "This is extremely important to the PM and he has personally intervened to ensure everything possible is being done so that vile groomers are dealt with in the way their victims deserve." It is understood that at this stage the review will only seek to identify offenders who might be released