A group of men convicted of sexually abusing a girl in Bradford could be eligible for early release under a new Labour government policy aimed at reducing jail overcrowding, despite earlier assurances that grooming offenders would be excluded from the scheme. The policy, which allows certain prisoners to be freed after serving half of their sentences, has raised concerns among victims’ advocates and opposition politicians.

The men—identified as Mohammed Imran Akram, Safraz Ahmed Latif, Wajid Hussain, Mohammed Naheem, and Nadeem Ali—were sentenced last October to prison terms ranging from six to eight years for sexually abusing a girl from the age of 13. However, many of their offences occurred before anti-grooming legislation was enacted in 2003, which led to their being charged with indecent assault rather than grooming offences specifically. Because of this, their convictions fall outside the exemption from early release announced by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, meaning they could be released as early as 2028.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch criticized the Labour government, saying it had broken its promise to keep grooming offenders behind bars for the full duration of their sentences. In a letter to Burnham, she called the situation “yet another betrayal of victims” and underscored that while the prime minister pledged to exclude those convicted of grooming offences, the government’s own documents indicate some offenders will nonetheless be eligible for early release.

The victims’ commissioner highlighted the emotional toll on survivors of abuse, stating that they have endured “weeks of stress and uncertainty” following the announcement of the new release scheme. The victim in the Bradford case previously described her abusers as having taken away “my basic rights and stole my future.”

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice acknowledged the issue but defended the policy by pointing to the broader challenge of overcrowding in prisons. They stated, “We have been clear that we wanted to go further and block more offenders from getting out sooner into their sentence, but could not do so without risking prisons reaching capacity and collapsing.”

The early release initiative forms part of a wider plan by the Labour government to ease pressure on the penal system. However, this case has drawn attention to complexities in applying the policy consistently, particularly concerning offences committed before changes in the legal framework on grooming and child sexual abuse.