Releasing prisoners early is needed to maintain confidence in British justice, the Justice Secretary has told the Commons, after a summer when the issue dominated news headlines.

The Government’s plan to free up capacity in the UK’s overcrowded male prison estate will ensure the justice system “commands the confidence of the British public”, Alex Norris told MPs as Parliament returned for its autumn term.

Criminals will be excluded from early release if they have been jailed for a range of offences, including child grooming gang members convicted of indecent assault.

Excluding manslaughter means the killers of Pc Andrew Harper, who died in the line of duty in 2019, will also not be eligible for early release, the Justice Secretary said.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham faced backlash for his plans to overhaul the early release scheme, which would have seen Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, who were convicted of Pc Harper’s manslaughter in 2020, eligible for early release from next year.

Mr Norris said: “This is the right thing to do, and I pay tribute to his wife Lissie and mother Debbie (Adlam), who campaigned for this.

“We would like to have gone further, but due to the lack of investment in the previous government’s 14 years, we are unable to do so.”

The Government is also freeing up hundreds of places for new cells by converting spaces like laundries into cells, as part of a “fast track plan” backed by £110 million funding, Mr Norris said.

The Justice Secretary told the Commons that the decisions taken by he and the Prime Minister were “difficult ones”, made because Labour had inherited a justice system “on the brink of failure”.

He added: “This Government will run towards problems, including the tough decisions needed to build a justice system that is firm, fair, and protects the public. Those aims will guide me as I tackle its challenges, reform it for a sustainable future, and ensure it commands the confidence of the British public.”

The Government also plans to deport foreign criminals as a means of freeing up prison cells from next year, the Justice Secretary said.

Mr Norris also told MPs that the Government had planned to “bring forward legislation” to end Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences “once and for all – by the end of this Parliament”.

IPP sentences have a minimum jail tariff but no maximum, and were designed to keep people locked up who were considered dangerous and thought to pose a serious risk to others if they were freed.

He added “public safety” would be his “top priority” in ending IPP sentences and said: “It will take time to get this right, but the work will begin immediately.”

Some 5,000 prisoners had been due to be released early from October under plans to ease jail overcrowding, down from 6,000 after ministers intervened to exempt rapists and “serious” child sex offenders.

Mr Norris apologised to victims who faced a summer of uncertainty as the Government made a number of changes to its early release scheme.

He said: “I would say to victims that I know that’s created uncertainty, and I do apologise to them.

“But I hope that they would understand that it was done with noble purpose, and now we must use the time available to make sure victims are getting the right support, particularly around shaping restrictions on their offenders if they do come out.”

Shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy branded the Government’s plan to end IPP sentences as a “fag packet policy”.

He said: “This is the Government’s fifth early release policy in just six weeks since the Prime Minister took office.

“At every stage, we were told ministers had no choice but to include dangerous criminals, because the alternative would be the collapse of the entire system.

“Now the plan is to stop one group of dangerous criminals leaving prison early by letting a different group of dangerous criminals out instead.

“The Justice Secretary and Prime Minister have justified the plan to release IPP prisoners as a matter of principle, but it’s no such thing.

“It’s a fag packet policy written to get them out of this crisis.”

Responding, Mr Norris said: “The reality is, if we followed his plan, we would have a prison system that was bust before Christmas.

“What would that mean for justice in this country?”

Liberal Democrats justice spokeswoman Jess Brown-Fuller said: “The Justice Secretary knows that the chaos and uncertainty on victims and their loved ones over the summer months by the handling of this scheme has been unforgivable.

“The Government has changed course countless times, leaving those like Pc Andrew Harper’s family and countless others without the certainty that they deserve.”

Mr Norris replied: “I appreciate that that has an impact on victims and survivors, and on their families as they wait with uncertainty.

“I hope that that’s not unforgivable in the sense that I hope that that it is understood that our aims for that were noble ones and have allowed us to go further, which I think is a good thing.”