Cannabis factory killer could be released early

The mother of a schoolboy who died in a house explosion said she was "absolutely raging" to find out the man responsible could be released from prison early.

Archie York died in October 2024 when his family home in Benwell, Newcastle, was destroyed when an illegal cannabis lab in the flat below blew up.

Drug dealer Reece Galbraith was jailed for 14 years for manslaughter and was due to be eligible for release after two thirds of his sentence. But Archie's mother said she had been told he could be released after half his term.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said, without action, prisons would "run out of space entirely" and prison leavers would be tagged unless there was a reason not to.

Archie's mother Katherine Errington said: "For the upset that Galbraith caused for me, my family, the whole wider community of people who were going down to Violet Close and dealing with that scene, the cost to the council of £3.7m in damage - seven years is absolutely shocking.

"It makes me so angry - we need tougher laws, not being more lenient.

"Archie's was a very important, innocent life lost."

Galbraith could be released earlier than expected due to changes made under the Sentencing Act 2026, which was designed to free up space in overcrowded prisons.

Under the changes, many criminals serving a determinate sentence - one with a set release date from prison - of more than seven years could be released halfway through and allowed to serve the rest in the community.

In a letter sent to Errington, the HM Prison and Probation Service said Galbraith was among offenders eligible for the scheme and it would confirm in August if he would be released early, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Errington said reducing jail time for those guilty of serious offences would "not make people think twice about reoffending".

"You would think this new legislation would come about for new offenders and not for offenders who have already been given their sentence," she said.

"He should not be eligible for it, especially for a crime that is so serious."

Errington has also campaigned to change sentencing guidelines so criminals who have committed multiple crimes would have to serve their sentences one after another, rather than simultaneously.

Galbraith was given four separate sentences totalling 31 years, but because he is serving them concurrently he was only jailed for 14 years.

The MoJ said "prisoners who misbehave can face longer behind bars and those convicted of the most serious crimes will be excluded" from earlier release.

"This government inherited a prison system in crisis and we are fixing it - building 14,000 more prison places and reforming sentencing so we can always lock up dangerous criminals," a spokesperson said.

"Without this decisive action, prisons would've run out of space entirely, putting the public at untold risk."

Supervision in the community was being strengthened with the investment of £700m in probation and 1,300 additional probation officers were being recruited this year, it said.

Every prison leaver would be tagged unless there was a "clear reason" not to, it added.

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