Labour fear 'open mutiny' over plans to release killers and rapists early

Labour ministers fear a party civil war over controversial plans paving the way for killers, rapists and burglars to be released from prison early, a top Tory warned.

Dr Kieran Muller, the Shadow Prisons Minister, warned more than 6,000 people who are jailed each year for serious violent offences will be let out earlier.

But Labour rammed the proposals through the House of Commons despite fears over the safety of the public.

Under the Government's plans, killers and rapists will be let out of prison early, while 43,000 criminals will avoid jail altogether.

Most convicts will be tagged and electronically monitored as ministers try to avoid a repeat of the prison overcrowding crisis.

The majority of criminals will be let out after just a third of their sentence.

They will spend another third under house arrest and will only then be put on licence and let into the community.

Criminals sentenced to more than four years behind bars will be let out after serving just half of their jail term, while punishments of less than 12 months will be abolished in most cases.

Only the most extreme offenders will be refused the right to leave prison at the halfway point

Criminals will, for the first time, be tagged before they leave prison in a bid to prevent them wreaking havoc in communities.

Dr Mullan said the Government had avoided line-by-line scrutiny of the Bill.

He said: "I suspect the Government know the reality of this Bill is so damning that they fear an outright rebellion from their MPs if they can't continue the pretence about what it does and doesn't do.

"The Government has said time and time again that no person who has committed what they describe as the most serious offences would be released early.

"However, we know this to be completely false".

He referred to sentencing figures which said that of 590 men jailed for rape of a female over 16, 393 would be eligible for early release.

The Tory shadow minister said that out of the 228 criminals guilty of sexual grooming, 196 will only serve a third of their sentences.

It comes after the Sunday Express revealed Around 2,000 paedophiles and perverts convicted of child sex offences will be let out of prison early every year.

Analysis of Ministry of Justice sentencing statistics revealed 2,254 offenders were locked up for child sex offences last year.

This included 167 perverts jailed for raping a female under 16.

Some 548 paedophiles jailed for taking, permitting, making, distributing or publishing indecent images of children will also spend less time behind bars.

And 229 people convicted of sexual grooming could be allowed home sooner, figures show, if a similar number is jailed under the proposed new 'progression model'.

Another 200 creeps - aged over 18 - jailed for sexual activity involving a child under 16 - will spend less time in prison.

A staggering 104 people jailed for sexual activity with a child under 13, and 248 caged for sexually assaulting a girl under 13 could also benefit from the softest sentencing reforms in a generation.

A shocking 54 people locked up for raping a child under the age of 13 could also be let out earlier.

MPs voted 321 to 103, majority 218, to pass the draft law at third reading. It will now go to the House of Lords to be further scrutinised by peers.

Justice minister Jake Richards said the Bill would "stabilise the prison system", adding: "By the end of this Parliament, under a Labour Government, there will be more criminals in our prisons than ever before.

"But we cannot only build our way out of this crisis, we must reform sentencing to ensure our criminal justice system is sustainable.

"The changes in this Bill will ensure we never face a situation the Conservatives left behind - the very real prospect that the most serious offenders would not face prison at all."

Conservative former minister Esther McVey argued that changes to suspended sentences in the Bill would lead to some prisoners being handed a "get out of jail free card".

Under the reforms, asylum seeker Hadush Kebatu, who was convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman, would be eligible for a suspended sentence for his crime, Ms McVey said, because he was jailed for less than 12 months.

Liberal Democrat justice spokeswoman Jess Brown-Fuller said her party had long advocated for suspended sentences for jail terms under 12 months, because it could help reduce reoffending rates and cut prison populations.

But she said the party's proposed amendment, new clause 31, would exclude certain criminals from the Government's automatic release scheme if they have been recalled.

This would include rapists, paedophiles and those convicted of grooming.

"(It) will therefore ensure that offenders who have committed certain offences will not be eligible for automatic release following a fixed-term recall," Ms Brown-Fuller said.

At the bill's report stage, the Tories also called for the creation of a national child cruelty register as part of their amendments to the Bill.

This was rejected by the Commons, with MPs voting 182 to 311, majority 129 against it.

However, Mr Richards committed to considering the national register as the draft law progresses through the House of Lords.

The introduction of a whole life order for the murder of prison or police officers killed because of their job, was also proposed by the Tories.

Currently, those who kill an on-duty officer can be given whole life orders, meaning they will never be released from prison.

Under the Conservatives' proposal this would be expanded to include offenders who target off-duty officers or those who have left service, with a clear motive of revenge.

MPs voted 173 to 323, majority 150, to reject this amendment.