PMQs dominated by a row over early prisoner release, with wider clashes on courts, policing and public safety

The main clash of the session was over the Government’s early release policy and whether it was putting the public at risk. Sir James Cleverly asked whether the Deputy Prime Minister would “apologise to the victims of the rapists, sexual predators and paedophiles” who could be released early, and later challenged him to guarantee that “not one rapist or paedophile will be released early later on this year”. The Deputy Prime Minister rejected the premise and said the Conservatives had left behind a prison system at breaking point. He argued that the previous government had run “six schemes within a year”, had left “just 83 empty cells”, and had failed to support victims properly. He said the new system was necessary because of prison pressure, and pointed to measures such as more probation officers, tighter tagging, exclusion zones, alcohol and driving bans, and “expanding chemical castration for sex offenders”.

Cleverly repeatedly pressed for an apology, saying the Government had already released “50,000 prisoners released early in just two years on his watch” and accusing ministers of “an abject failure to keep prisoners in prison, where they belong”. He also said the policy was causing distress for victims, quoting Fiona Goddard, who said learning that offenders may be released early had left her feeling “constantly anxious, frightened and unsafe”. The Deputy Prime Minister replied that the Conservatives had themselves used early release, sometimes “on the sly”, and said Labour was now notifying victims and working with them. He also pushed back on the Conservatives’ record, saying they had “wrecked neighbourhood policing”, let prisons run to bursting point and then called an election. When Cleverly said the Government was “hellbent on releasing dangerous criminals by accident”, the Deputy Prime Minister said the Conservatives had released offenders in secret and that Labour had had to pass the Sentencing Act 2026 to create space in prisons.

The opposition also tried to widen the attack to trial by jury. Cleverly said the Deputy Prime Minister’s “personal crusade to scrap trial by jury” would damage “fundamental British freedoms”. The Deputy Prime Minister replied that “there is no proposal before this House to scrap trial by jury”, saying there was only “a threshold change”, and arguing that jury reform had been made before by Margaret Thatcher and David Cameron. He said most criminal cases are already dealt with by magistrates and that the Government was restoring and modernising the courts, including through digital ID.

Cleverly then turned to the cost of government priorities, saying the welfare bill had “ballooned by £20 billion this year alone” while police numbers had fallen by more than 2,000 since Labour took office. He added that if the next Prime Minister did not want to be associated with the policy, “he should come out and condemn the plan”. The Deputy Prime Minister answered by contrasting Labour’s record with the Conservatives’, saying they had presided over the biggest fall in living standards in recorded history, “millions of people stuck on NHS waiting lists”, cuts to defence and “the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation” under Labour. He said Labour had also lifted half a million children out of poverty and was cutting violent crime.

Other party leaders used their questions to raise issues from devolution to democracy and online harms. Daisy Cooper of the Liberal Democrats pressed the Deputy Prime Minister on the Reform UK leader’s resignation and asked whether he would back a delay or a “Clacton clause” to keep investigations going. He replied that Nigel Farage was “up to his neck in sleaze” and that Labour would not “be part of this circus”. In a later exchange, Cooper asked for a full apology for Beth, who she said was attacked by an MI5 agent, and for a Hillsborough Bill covering the security services. The Deputy Prime Minister said he would arrange for Beth to meet the Security Minister and said the Bill would be in the House “in the coming days”.

Emily Darlington raised AI-generated fake news and deepfakes, warning that they were “disruptive” and could be used by foreign states to weaken democracy. The Deputy Prime Minister said the protections had to “keep pace” with threats like deepfakes and that the Government would look closely at her amendments to the Representation of the People Bill. Dr Ellie Chowns asked whether proportional representation was now needed to rebuild trust, but the Deputy Prime Minister instead criticised the Greens over a councillor’s alleged racist language, saying they should “start the healing process” by addressing that.

Among the backbench contributions, Labour MPs highlighted the Government’s domestic agenda. Jeff Smith welcomed Labour’s candidate Bev Craig and her pledge of free travel for 11 to 18-year-olds in Greater Manchester; the Deputy Prime Minister backed her and said Labour was putting bus services back in local hands. John Grady raised serious failings in the Family C case in Glasgow, saying a child’s pleas had been treated as “streetwise”; the Deputy Prime Minister called the abuse “horrific” and backed independent scrutiny.

There were also questions on policing, local devolution and sewage. James McMurdock of Reform asked about “two-tier decision making” and whether “without fear or favour” could be maintained; the Deputy Prime Minister replied that “everyone is equal before the law” and said there was “no two-tier justice in this country”. Noah Law asked about Cornwall’s strategic authority status; the Deputy Prime Minister said the Government was “absolutely committed to devolution” and that discussions were ongoing. Dr Roz Savage pressed for water companies to report the volume and concentration of sewage discharges as well as hours; the Deputy Prime Minister said the Government was acting after inheriting “record levels of pollution”, and started to list measures including banning unfair bonuses and introducing jail penalties before the transcript cuts off.

AI-assisted recap of the official Hansard record. Quotes are verbatim — follow the links in the live feed to check each against Hansard. Spotted an error? Let us know.