Justice Secretary Alex Norris has apologised to families affected by the early release scheme, saying they were “carrying the can from previous failures”.

Families, including a man whose pregnant partner died after being hit by a speeding driver, criticised the prisoner early release scheme, saying it comes “at the expense of victims”.

Andy Burnham announced that prisoners convicted of rape, grooming, and serious child sex offences will be excluded from the scheme in England and Wales. The prime minister said he wanted to exclude more, but prison overcrowding prevented this.

Calvin Buckley said he was “shocked and disappointed” the killer of his partner and unborn child could be released early.

The mother of PC Andrew Harper also said she was “devastated” to learn two men jailed after her son was killed will still be eligible.

The prime minister said making more prisoners exempt was not possible without the prison system collapsing and putting the public “at much greater risk”.

Justice Secretary Alex Norris also warned a prison capacity crisis would be likely if fewer prisoners were allowed early release.

Norris later said he spoke to the families as “it is really important to express that this shouldn’t be where it is”.

He also said he was confident the prisons would have adequate room now that about 1,000 extra prisoners will not be released early.

“We have modelled it very carefully,” he said.

PC Harper, 28, was killed in 2019 when he was dragged by a car down a country road as three teenagers fled the scene of a quad bike theft in Berkshire.

His family previously said they had received a letter from the Ministry of Justice confirming that two of the offenders could be included in the early release scheme.

While the driver of the vehicle, Henry Long, received a 16-year sentence and would not be eligible, Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, who were passengers in the car and sentenced to 13 years for manslaughter could apply for early release after serving half of their sentences.

The Sentencing Act was amended in January, with the eligibility for early release based on the length of fixed sentence, rather than the type of offence.

The act already excluded some of the most serious and dangerous offenders, such as murderers serving life sentences or those on extended sentences.

But last month the prime minister promised to “review the policy” and paused the scheme after a backlash from survivors.

Announcing the changes on Monday, he said: “I fully understand the anger, anxiety and distress that’s been caused. I’ve heard that loud and clear.”

But PC Harper’s mother Debbie Adlam, told BBC Newsnight: “It feels like we’re letting Andrew down again” to hear his killers might still be eligible for release.

“We’ve been through the justice system, we thought we’d done as best as we could.

“Now we’re standing up to fight again… so I just feel really let down, for Andrew’s sake as well as ours.”

She added that Norris had called her to explain the situation and apologise.

Later, on BBC Breakfast, Adlam called for more support from the probation service, stressing: “I need to know at the very, very least if they are going to be released that we’re kept in mind of what’s happening and we are informed”.

Other families have also criticised the early release scheme.

Calvin Buckley’s partner Frankie Jules-Hough and unborn child died in May 2023.

“Our justice is being taken away, I understand there’s a crisis, I agree that it needs to be addressed, but not at the expense of victims,” he told BBC Breakfast.