The Terrorist Offenders
(Restriction of Early Release) Bill 2019-20 was
introduced on 11 February 2020. All stages in the House of
Commons are due to take place on 12 February 2020.
The Bill has been introduced in response to the terrorist
attacks on London Bridge in November 2019 and in Streatham in
February 2020. The offenders in each of these attacks had been
released from prison automatically without the involvement of
the Parole Board.
The Government has said the Bill should be fast tracked through
Parliament because legislation is needed urgently to put
appropriate safeguards in place before further terrorist
offenders, including some due for automatic release before the
end of February 2020, are released from prison.
Currently prisoners serving a standard determinate sentence are
automatically released from prison at the half way point of
their sentence to serve the rest of their sentence in the
community on licence. Prisoners serving extended sentences
imposed before 2015 may be released automatically on licence at
either the two thirds or half way point. Prisoners serving
sentences for offenders of particular concern may be released
on licence from the halfway point at the discretion of the
Parole Board.
The Bill would change release provisions so that offenders
given a determinate sentence for a relevant terrorism offence
do not become eligible for release until the two thirds point
of the sentence. Release at the two thirds point for these
offenders would not be automatic. They would be referred to the
Parole Board to decide if they are safe to release on licence.
The changes would apply not only to those sentenced for the
relevant offences in the future but also to those currently in
custody serving sentences for these offences. This has led to
some debate as to the compatibility of the Bill with the
European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits the
retrospective imposition of criminal penalties. The
Government’s position is that the changes relate to the
administration of the penalty, rather than its scope, and that
the Bill is therefore compatible with the Convention.
The Bill does not address concerns about the management of
terrorist offenders within prisons. It is not clear whether the
interventions used in prisons with extremist offenders are
effective. Separation centres set up for some extremist
offenders have been little used.
The Government has said it intends, in the coming weeks, to
introduce a further bill making provision for the sentencing
and release of terrorism offenders.
The provisions of the Bill would extend and apply to England,
Wales and Scotland. Counter-terrorism is a reserved matter,
although prisons and sentencing (including release provisions)
are devolved to Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Government
states that a Legislative Consent Motion will be required from
the Scottish Parliament. For detail on the territorial extent
and application of the Bill see page 7 and Annex A of the
Explanatory Notes.
The Bill would come into force on Royal Assent.
The Government has published Explanatory Notes.
A Gov.uk page for
the Bill provides links to a Factsheet, Equality Statement,
European Convention on Human Rights Memorandum and an Impact
Assessment. There is also a Bill page.
