Summary

  • The government has set out plans to build more prison spaces, after Andy Burnham tightened plans to release more inmates early

  • On Sunday, Burnham said people convicted of unlawful killing - including manslaughter - would not be eligible for earlier release

  • That came after a summer of rows, focused on two of PC Andrew Harper's killers - who would have been released after half their sentence, had the policy not changed

  • The government now says it's spending £110m on new prison spaces, with "existing space" in prisons "converted into cells"

  • That existing space will include "unused office space, laundry rooms and storage areas"

  • Justice Secretary Alex Norris and his Conservative opponent Nick Timothy are talking to the BBC this morning - follow live on this page

  • Later, Burnham will address the Commons for the first time as prime minister

Live Reporting

Edited by Caitlin Doherty

  1. Laundry rooms and unused offices to be converted into cells

    Unused office space, laundry rooms and storage areas will be converted into cells, as ministers look to create more room in existing prisons.

    The Ministry of Justice says it will spend £110m on the work, using money which has been "fast-tracked from existing budgets".

    Investment to create more prison spaces was announced as part of the government's 2025 spending review, which covered plans for the period from 2024‑25 to 2029‑30.

    As part of this, it allocated a £7bn investment to create 14,000 prison places by 2031.

    The £110m announced on Monday is not new cash, and is being drawn from money previously announced.

    A graph which shows how prison capacity has gone down over the months, while prison population has gone up

  2. Justice secretary to update Parliament on prisoner release scheme

    Alex NorrisPA

    Justice Secretary Alex Norris is expected to give MPs more detail on the government's early release plans in Parliament later on Tuesday.

    The tightening of the scheme, aimed at tackling prison overcrowding, comes after Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced on Sunday that anyone convicted of unlawful killing - including manslaughter - would be excluded from the plans.

    The decision was spurred in part by a campaign from the family and colleagues of PC Andrew Harper's to block the release of two men convicted of killing him in 2019.

    Burnham said on Sunday that extra prison space would be found by releasing some inmates serving indefinite sentences - which prompted criticism from the Conservatives.

    And this morning, the government set out a £110m plan to convert existing space in prisons into cells - we'll have more detail on that in our next post.

    We're also expecting to hear from both Norris and the shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy when they speak to media this morning.

    As well as Norris, Burnham is also due to address the Commons later today, his first time doing so as prime minister.

    We'll bring you everything you need to know from Westminster throughout the day.