4 hours ago
4
Shabana Mahmood, the lord chancellor, is considering mandatory chemical castration for the most serious sex offenders, according to government sources.
The minister’s department is planning to expand a pilot to 20 regions as part of a package of “radical” measures to free thousands of prisoners and ease prison overcrowding in England and Wales.
As well as releasing and tagging killers and rapists after they have served half of their sentence, she is considering the findings of an independent sentencing review that has also called for the government to build an evidence base on drugs that “suppress libido” or reduce “sexual thoughts”.
They are among 48 recommendations put forward by David Gauke, the chair of the review.
Mahmood is expected to address the Commons on Thursday to outline which measures she will accept in a major overhaul of criminal justice.
Government sources said she is expected to accept the review’s key measures including that well-behaved prisoners should be released on tag after serving a third of their sentences.
She has also accepted that those who have committed serious sexual or violent crimes could be freed to serve their sentence in the community after they have served half of their sentence.
One of Gauke’s suggestions – that the most dangerous offenders should be allowed to apply for parole earlier if they earn “credits” – has been dismissed by sources close to the justice secretary.
The report has urged ministers to build a comprehensive evidence base around the use of chemical suppression for sex offenders and examine the findings of similar programmes in Germany, Denmark and Poland.
“Problematic sexual arousal and preoccupation can be reduced via chemical suppressants and other medications, which can be prescribed for individuals who have committed a sexual offence under certain circumstances,” the report notes.
It points out that a 2022 pilot programme at prisons in south-west England which uses libido-suppressing drugs is due to end next year and recommends “continued funding of services in this area”.
The government plans to expand the pilot using these as a staging post to a full, nationwide rollout, a source close to Mahmood said.
The approach is delivered through two drugs. Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) limit invasive sexual thoughts. Anti-androgens reduce the production of testosterone and limit libido.
The drugs are taken alongside psychiatric work that targets other causes of sexual offending, such as a desire for power and control.
Mahmood is exploring whether chemical castration could be made mandatory, instead of voluntary, for the most serious offenders, the source said.
Sexual offences accounted for 21% of adults serving immediate custodial sentences at the end of March 2025. The report notes that participation in any such programme would be voluntary in England and Wales.
Among the main recommendations, Gauke, the former Conservative justice secretary, said the government should:
-
Ensure custodial sentences under 12 months are only used in exceptional circumstances.
-
Extend suspended sentences to up to three years and encourage greater use of deferred sentences for low-risk offenders.
-
Give courts greater flexibility to use fines and ancillary orders like travel, driving and football bans.
-
Allow probation officers to adjust the level of supervision based on risk and compliance with licence conditions.
-
Expand specialist domestic abuse courts to improve support for victims.
-
Expand tagging for all perpetrators of violence against women and girls.
-
Improve training for practitioners and the judiciary on violence against women and girls.
-
Change the statutory purposes of sentencing so judges and magistrates must consider protecting victims as much as they consider punishment and rehabilitation when passing sentences.
Gauke has called for the need to increase funding and resources for the probation service, including expanding the availability of electronic monitoring equipment like tags, and warned that there will be a “public backlash” if money is not found.
“If probation are left without additional resources then the risk is that we won’t make progress on rehabilitation and there will be a public backlash,” he said.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council echoed Gauke’s calls for more resources.
Chief constable Sacha Hatchett, national policing lead for criminal justice, said: “Out of prison should not mean out of control. If we are going to have fewer people in prison, we need to ensure that we collectively have the resources and powers to manage the risk offenders pose outside prison.
“Adequate funding to support these measures must be reflected in the upcoming spending review, as well as investment in probation services and technology, including electronic monitoring.”
Penal reform group the Howard League welcomed the recommendations.
Andrea Coomber, the chief executive, said: “The ball is now in the government’s court. Solving the prison capacity crisis will require major intervention and, as the review recognises, this will only succeed if reform and investment deliver an effective and responsive probation service that works to cut crime in the community.”
The Conservatives have condemned Gauke’s review. Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, said: “By scrapping short prison sentences Starmer is effectively decriminalising crimes like burglary, theft and assault. This is a gift to criminals who will be free to offend with impunity.”
