Labour's sentencing overhaul has provoked widespread fury (Image: HOC/UNPIXS)

       Sarah Everard’s heartbroken parents declared there is no “excuse for letting the worst offenders get out of prison even” earlier as fury erupted over the biggest sentencing reforms in a generation.

       Killers and rapists will be let out of prison earlier and criminals will be rewarded for good behaviour behind bars, the Government confirmed.

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       Labour’s sentencing tsar, David Gauke, recommended criminals sentenced to more than four years should be let out after serving just half of their jail term behind bars.

       Campaigners branded it an “insult to victims”.

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       Sarah Everard's heartbroken parents are campaigning for tougher sentences (Image: PA)

       Sarah Everard’s parents, Jeremy and Susan, Katie Brett, whose sister Sasha was raped and stabbed to death, Ayse Hussein, whose cousin Jan Mustafa was killed by a serial sex offender, Becky and Glen Youens whose four-year-old daughter Violet-Grace was killed by a dangerous driver jailed for just nine years and Paula Hudgell, whose adopted son Tony was cruelly tortured by his birth parents, blasted the proposals.

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       The group, who formed the Justice for Victims campaign, said in a joint statement: “It doesn’t seem a serious effort has been made to understand what victims and families want when they should be at the heart of sentencing policy.

       “What we wanted to see was a proper recognition of the enormous impact the most serious crime has on victims and their families and to see that suitable punishment reflects that.

       “Instead it recommends some of the most serious offenders, like rapists and child abusers, are going to spend less time in prison.

       “We welcome the extra investment and plans for new prison places from the Government. But there isn’t any excuse for letting the worst offenders get out of prison even earlier.

       “Prisoners already get out halfway automatically. If they want to incentivise good behaviour in prison, why couldn’t the changes be focused on removing that right to early release happening if those prisoners aren’t cooperating?

       “We shouldn’t forget that having to work or study, having to follow rules-these are the things that the law-abiding majority have to do every day anyway.

       “We shouldn’t be rewarding serious criminals for doing what the rest of us do. We should be punishing them more instead if they won’t.”

       The campaign group is calling for murderers and sex offenders to be locked up for longer, with families still “fighting for justice” as many sentences are not “respectful” of victims’ memories.

       And they blasted Mr Gauke for refusing to meet them.

       They said: “Given the government described this as a landmark review it was a huge opportunity to really understand what victims and their families want from sentencing. We were deeply disappointed that Mr. Gauke decided he didn’t have time to meet with our group and failed to answer basic questions about how the views of victims and their families were being taken into account.”

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       Dangerous criminals will be released from prison earlier, under Labour's proposals (Image: Getty)

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       Under Labour’s proposals, criminals convicted of manslaughter, rape, sexual assault, conspiracy to murder and GBH will be among those let out after serving only half of their sentence behind bars.

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

       Ministers are set to introduce a “progression model”, which will see prisoners let out of their cells after just a third of their sentence if they behave behind bars.

       They will then spend another third of their sentence under house arrest.

       Only then will they be allowed onto licence and back into the community.

       Serious offenders will have to wait until they have served half of their sentence.

       And short sentences of under 12 months will be abolished in the vast majority of cases.

       Ministers insisted this is necessary to end the prison overcrowding crisis.

       Mr Gauke, in his 200-page report, suggested ways to reduce the prison population by 9,800. Jails are currently 99% full, ministers said.

       Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood told MPs: “Under this model, an offender will not necessarily leave prison at an automatic point. Instead, their release date will be determined by their behaviour. If they follow prison rules, they will earn earlier release. If they do not, they will be locked up for longer.”

       She added: “Under this new model, offenders serving standard determinate sentences with an automatic release of 40% or 50% will now earn their release. The earliest possible release will be one-third, with additional days added for bad behaviour.

       “The review suggests a new maximum of 50%, but for those who behave excessively badly, I will not place an upper limit.”

       But Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick blasted the proposals, declaring Ms Mahmood has given criminals discounts in their sentence “so big they’d make Aldi and Lidl blush”.

       He added: “Today is about one question - should violent and prolific criminals be on the streets or behind bars? I think they should be behind bars.

       “For all the Justice Secretary’s rhetoric, the substance of her statement could not be clearer - she’s OK, her party is OK with criminals terrorising our streets and tormenting our country.”

       Mr Jenrick suggested Ms Mahmood is “out of her mind” over the idea of “digital prisons”.

       He asked: “If not prison, what’s the plan to punish these criminals and to keep the public safe? Well, the Justice Secretary says it’s ‘digital prisons’ - as she puts it, ‘prison outside of prison’, words that leave most people in this country to conclude the Justice Secretary is out of her mind.

       “I’m all for technology, but tags are not iron bars. They can’t stop your child being stabbed on their walk home from school, or a shop being ransacked time and time again, or a domestic abuser returning to their victim’s front door.”

       Domestic Abuse Commissioner Dame Nicole Jacobs said: “By adopting these measures the government will be sending a clear message to domestic abusers that they can now offend with little consequence.

       “I recognise the difficult situation ministers are in and that our approach to sentencing must change to address the prison capacity crisis.

       “But watering down our criminal justice system is not the answer - especially when it comes at the expense of victims’ safety and cuts short the justice they have fought so hard for.

       “With just 5% of domestic abuse related crimes reported to the police leading to a conviction, victims frequently tell me that they do not trust that justice will be served. So, for perpetrators to now likely have the time they spend behind bars significantly slashed, I fear what little confidence survivors had left will be completely eroded.”

       The Ministry of Justice on Thursday confirmed it is considering chemically castrating sex offenders.

       A national rollout will begin in two regions covering 20 prisons in response to the review which called for the services to be piloted on a small scale.

       And the Prison Officers’ Association said: “The POA have been fully briefed on the extension of this trial which has had some successful outcomes.”

       Chemical suppressants have been used in Germany and Denmark on a voluntary basis, and in Poland as mandatory for some offenders.

       The review said the medications are not widely used in prisons across England and Wales but are currently delivered in prisons through a national programme, jointly commissioned by the NHS and prison service, that provides “psychologically informed” services for offenders with complex needs, and likely diagnosed with personality disorder.

       It was first piloted in the UK at HMP Whatton, in Nottingham, in 2007, and was rolled out to six more prisons in 2016.

       In 2022, the pilot scheme extended the treatment, called clinical management of sexual arousal, to five prisons in the south west of England.

       Chemical suppressants include hormonal drugs, anti-androgens, which can be prescribed to reduce libido, and non-hormonal drugs such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which can be used to reduce compulsive sexual thoughts.

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       The review said: “Only medical specialists can prescribe these medications and they should only be used in conjunction with other psycho-social treatment and support, for example, to aid individuals to engage fully with these interventions.

       “Before any decision is made to establish further services for chemical suppression across England and Wales, services must be piloted on a small scale with evaluations produced.

       “Various considerations, such as side effects and potential ramifications for victims, will need to be examined.”