Documents to download

The purpose of the bill, as described by the UK Government, is to ensure that terrorist offenders are not automatically released on licence before the end of their custodial term without the Parole Board’s prior agreement. Recent terrorist attacks in the UK, including the Streatham attack on 2 February 2020 and the Fishmongers’ Hall attack on 30 November 2019, were committed by individuals who had previously been convicted of terrorist offences and had been released from prison automatically at the half-way point. 

The bill would mean that anyone who receives a standard determinate sentence for certain terrorist offences would spend a minimum of two–thirds of their custodial term in prison before being referred to the Parole Board for consideration. A standard determinate sentence requires a person to serve the first half of the sentence in prison and the second half on licence. For offences committed after 1 February 2015, offenders sentenced to less than two years will also be subject to post sentence supervision. The bill would also apply retrospectively to those who are already in prison and serving a custodial sentence. 

The Government believes that legislation is “urgently” needed to safeguard the public before further terrorist offenders are released. The next such prisoners are scheduled for automatic release at the end of February 2020. The Government intends to expedite the parliamentary progress of the bill to make it law before their release. 

The Government introduced the bill in the House of Commons on 11 February 2020. During the bill’s second reading, MPs raised several issues. These included the bill’s compliance with article 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the fast-tracking of the bill through the parliamentary process, and implications for resources. Some have argued that the bill may be subject to legal challenges in court.

The bill completed all stages in the House of Commons on 12 February 2020. It passed with no amendments following its third reading.


Documents to download

Related posts

  • Select communications offences and concerns over free speech

    Section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988 and section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 contain communications offences which criminalise the sending of indecent or grossly offensive messages. In April 2025, the Times reported that arrests made under these sections had increased since the pandemic, while convictions under them had decreased over the past decade. Responding to the data, commentators have argued that the findings highlight issues around the offences and their impact on free speech.

    Select communications offences and concerns over free speech
  • Strategic defence review 2025

    The ‘Strategic defence review 2025’ (SDR) was published on 2 June 2025. Contending that the UK faces a generational defence and security challenge, the SDR makes 62 recommendations across the armed forces and wider society to meet this threat. The government has pledged to implement all those recommendations. However, critics question where the resources to meet the requirements of the SDR will come from, despite government pledges to raise defence spending levels.

    Strategic defence review 2025
  • Crime and Policing Bill: HL Bill 111 of 2024–25

    The Crime and Policing Bill is broad in scope and would include measures aimed at tackling anti-social behaviour, knife crime, violence against women and girls, theft, child sexual abuse, other sexual offending, youth radicalisation and more. It would also contain provisions relating to police powers and misconduct investigations.

    Crime and Policing Bill: HL Bill 111 of 2024–25