Sexual abuse survivor accuses Mahmood and Streeting of 'laughing at victims' with 'disgusting' early prisoner releases 'joke'

By JAKE HOLDEN, UK NEWS REPORTER Published: 16:28, 23 July 2026 | Updated: 16:29, 23 July 2026 A sex abuse survivor accused Shabana Mahmood and Wes Streeting of 'laughing at victims' with their 'disgusting' jokes about setting criminals loose under the now-paused early release scheme. Mother-of-five Jade Belgrove was groomed, drugged and raped twice when she was just 14 by a close family friend Simon Tyler in 2010. The paedophile was jailed for nine years in 2024, but could have been let out after serving just half his sentence under the early release scheme. Andy Burnham has now paused the scheme after heavy criticism surrounding the case of the brutal murder of PC Andrew Harper and mounting opposition by Ms Belgrove's 88,000 signatories in her petition campaign. Shabana Mahmood and Wes Streeting caused more problems for the scheme when they were caught on camera joking about it on Tuesday. They quipped the new Justice Secretary Alex Norris was 'the enemy now' and 'wants to let them all out'. Ms Belgrove - now aged 30 - said the joke 'was absolutely disgusting.' 'I felt physically sick when I saw it. Physically sick. 'They are laughing at what we're having to go through. I'm waking up every night at the moment, having panic attacks throughout the night. 'I am reliving the trauma that I've been through. I've dealt with this pain and trauma for so long now, and they are literally just laughing in our face when we are literally devoting all day, every day, at the moment to try and stop this, and they think it's a cheap laugh. Mother-of-five Jade Belgrove, 30, accused newly appointed Defence Secretary Wes Streeting and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood of 'laughing at victims' with their 'disgusting' jokes about the now-paused early release scheme Mr Streeting, right, and Shabana Mahmood, left, jokes new Justice Secretary Alex Norris was 'the enemy now' and 'wants to let them all out' Under Labour's Sentencing Act 2026, killers, rapists and paedophiles could have been let out after serving just half of their sentence, while less serious offenders could be set loose after only a third. The Act was meant to solve the problem of overcrowding that has plagued Britain's prisons for years, but was halted by new Prime Minister Mr Burnham after it drew massive criticism. Facing uproarious condemnation, the sniggering secretaries of state had to issue an embarrassing apology and were rebuked by Mr Burnham. Mr Streeting said he was 'sorry for any offence inadvertently caused' by his remarks to Mr Norris. Ms Mahmood also said there was 'no ill intent' about the 'ribbing' of the Justice Secretary, which was caught on camera in a 'hot mic' moment. But, for Ms Belgrove, their apologies simply added to the slight. She said: 'Their apologies weren't apologies. There was no conviction or anything in those statements. 'They were both written the exact same, just signed off slightly different at the bottom. 'I know they didn't even come from them. They're not sincerely apologetic; they've just been caught out laughing at us. It wasn't an apology.' Ms Belgrove has been the head of a successful campaign to try to exempt sex offenders and rapists from being eligible for early release under the Act. She started a petition which has now got more than 88,000 signatories. Mr Burnham's pausing of the scheme is a huge victory in her endeavours. Her movement began when she, alongside more than 7,000 other victims, received a 'generic' letter that said the man who raped her as a child could be released after serving just half of his sentence - only four and a half years of the nine he was handed. He would have walked free two years from now if it went ahead, having already served 18 months since he was locked up in 2024. 'It broke me,' Ms Belgrove said, 'I just felt such fear and vulnerability, but I also got this massive feeling that I need to fight this. 'I can't let this happen - for the safety of myself, for the safety of my family, and for the safety of future victims.' The idea of him being let out rocks Ms Belgrove to the core.  She said: 'I am petrified for my own safety, because he literally lives 10 minutes down the road from where I live. 'There is nothing in place to stop him. 'I don't know if he's revengeful against me or my family and children for reporting him. I have no idea, and that absolutely petrifies me.' Paedophile Simon Tyler raped Ms Belgrove twice when she was 14 after plying her with drugs and alcohol. He was jailed in 2024 and could have been let out in two years from now under the early release scheme - serving just half of his nine-year sentence Andy Burnham has now paused the early release scheme after massive backlash. He was also forced to rebuke his Cabinet ministers for their jokes PC Andrew Harper was 28 when he sustained fatal injuries while responding to a quad bike theft in Sulhamstead, Berkshire, in August 2019 The Ministry of Justice has confirmed Jessie Cole, left, and Albert Bowers might be eligible to be released from prison half-way through their sentences Ms Belgrove has been campaigning against the scheme for over a month, but the pushback only came to a head this week when the high-profile murder case of PC Andrew Harper was brought to the headlines. PC Harper, 28, was killed after being dragged behind a car down a country road by three teenage suspects. Like Ms Belgrove, the family of PC Harper received letters that two men involved with the killing of the police officer could have been set loose early under the scheme. Yesterday, Mr Burnham launched the review into the scheme in response to the outcry surrounding the case. This afternoon, he paused the scheme ahead of its September start date. While she was glad for the announcement, the delayed response by the government was still upsetting for Ms Belgrove. She said it was as if her experiences were being 'ranked' and compared to others. She explained: 'I don't want to take away anything on how awful that crime really was, because it's absolutely horrendous, and his family now have to live with the consequences. 'But as a victim of rape and child sexual abuse, it is insulting, because we haven't mattered until this high-profile case has come in, and now, all of a sudden, he's made that statement. 'But why didn't he before, when we were all campaigning? That is frustrating.' Tyler had drugged and raped Ms Belgrove on two separate occasions when she was 14, and he was 24.  The first was when she was at her family home with her pregnant stepmother asleep upstairs with her father. Down below, Tyler plied young Ms Belgrove with alcohol and then gave her drugs which made her pass out. 'Then I woke up on the sofa to him raping me,' she said. Tyler struck again just a few months later when he was invited along on a family holiday to Wales and raped her in a bed beside her sleeping 13-year-old cousin.  The rapist had gotten Ms Belgrove's cousin drunk, who passed out in the bed next to hers. 'Tyler knew that he was passed out and asleep. He then came in and raped me,' she said. Her father later asked Tyler to be her godfather, unaware of what he had done - something she said Tyler found 'hilarious'.  Warning of the dangers of early release, Ms Belgrove said: 'It just shows that it's okay to go out and rape a child. It's okay to go out and rape a woman. 'It's given the complete wrong messages to people that think it was acceptable in the first place.' The Daily Mail has contacted Mr Streeting and Ms Mahmood's offices for comment. To sign Ms Belgrove's petition, please follow the link here.