A woman strangled to the point of unconsciousness by her then-partner says she has been left ‘heartbroken’ after discovering he could be released from prison early.
Kerry Allan bravely spoke out to encourage other women who had survived abuse to share their stories with the police. She appeared on TV just days after her former partner, Michael Cosgrove, had been sentenced to 20 years in prison following his conviction for attempted murder and intentional strangulation.
The 46-year-old of no fixed address, but previously of Wythenshawe, was told he would serve two-thirds of his term behind bars. So when Kerry received a voicemail from a victim liaison officer informing her that Cosgrove may now serve only six years in prison, she felt her world turn upside down.
“I listened to it and I felt sick,” Kerry told the Manchester Evening News. “I couldn’t work out what was going on.
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“I feel bad because it was nothing to do with her, but it was just so matter of fact – like ‘it’s happening, there’s nothing you can do, get used to it’. I feel like when he does get released, because it’s only six years, he will be here in no time.”
Cosgrove lashed out at Kerry after the pair returned from a New Order concert at Wythenshawe Park in August 2024. The couple had argued after Kerry discovered Cosgrove had been messaging other women on a dating app, Minshull Street Crown Court previously heard.
Michael Cosgrove and Kerry Allan(Image: Kerry Allan)
As he turned violent towards her, Cosgrove chillingly said: “You are dead tonight. You know that don’t you? I’m going to kill you and then kill myself.”
The court heard Cosgrove strangled Kerry twice before she reached for a window to jump out, only for him to pull her back onto a bed and strangle her again, to the point of losing consciousness. Neighbours alerted police after hearing the commotion, and as officers arrived, Cosgrove jumped from the bathroom window to escape.
It was an abhorrent attack which Kerry thinks about every single day – and one that forced her to move away from her network of friends and family, fearing for her safety. She said: “I’ve never got over it. It’s on my mind every day. It’s the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing at night. It has taken me years to even try and put my life back together.”
Cosgrove is one of thousands of prisoners who could become eligible for earlier release under the Sentencing Act 2026 from September. A new ‘progression model’ sets a minimum release point at one-third of the term for standard determinate sentences – the most common type of prison sentence.
Michael Cosgrove was jailed last year(Image: GMP)
It comes as the government continues to grapple with a prison overcrowding crisis – with a prison population of between 98 and 99.7 per cent from October 2022 to August 2024, and a net increase of just 482 prison places from 2010 to 2024. The new model would see some offenders managed under strict licence conditions after spending one-third of their term in custody, and they could be recalled to prison if they breach those terms.
Conditions can include restriction zones and prohibited activities, while the government says prison leavers will be tagged unless there is ‘clear reason not to’. But the one-third term is not an automatic release point – and prisoners who behave badly can be held in jail for longer.
‘I feel women are being let down’
The news that Cosgrove would be eligible for the scheme has been devastating for Kerry – who fears for the impact on other women in a similar position. She says she asked if she could appeal any release for Cosgrove after just six years, but was told it would not be possible.
“I feel let down – let down by the government, let down by the courts,” she said. “I feel completely let down and I feel women are being let down. This is not just me that it’s happening to. It’s on a bigger scale. I feel like there must be a way [to change it]. I feel like I’m being laughed at by him and his family. I’m being made a mockery of.”
For Kerry, the disappointment is compounded by the fact she worked with the Crown Prosecution Service on a campaign urging more women to report crimes and pursue prosecution. She said: “I’m so disgusted. I can’t go through what I went through for this. I feel like what’s happened to me is being diminished.
Kerry Allan on Good Morning Britain for the CPS campaign in 2025(Image: ITV)
“It sounds stupid but I’m heartbroken by this. I’m really heartbroken. I feel like nobody understands what I went through. Somebody has just diminished what he has done. I think it’s absolutely disgusting, it’s disgraceful.
“Do you know how hard it is for women to go through the courts? It’s hard and terrifying. We do it because of the belief that justice will prevail – but justice is not being done here. It’s a joke. An absolute joke. How scary is that? When it happened I had to move away – completely away from all my friends and my family. Everything I went through – I did it for this?”
Those on extended determinate sentences are exempt from the ‘progression model’, as are ‘offenders of particular concern’ – such as convicted terrorists. Yet there are significant concerns over the potential release of prisoners who have attacked former partners, with former Labour minister Jess Phillips calling for ‘more exemptions within the release scheme’ last month.
Manchester Women’s Aid, which supports survivors of domestic abuse, is particularly concerned. It points to examples from the Labour government’s previous early release scheme – which saw offenders serve 40 per cent of their term before automatic release – which have proved to be inadequate for the safety of women.
The changes are being made to reduce prison overcrowding(Image: PA)
A spokesperson for Manchester Women’s Aid said: “The impact of the Government’s Early Release Scheme in response to overcrowding in prisons, is a concern for clients and communities alike. As a specialist domestic abuse and sexual violence service, we have seen cases where perpetrators have been released early but survivors have not been informed.
“In some cases, perpetrators’ behaviours are not monitored to an adequate standard, and upon breaching the conditions of their early release, some perpetrators have not faced appropriate repercussions – for example, being recalled to serve out the remainder of their original sentence in custody.
“Our specialist staff, who support survivors at highest risk of harm, see this reflected in MARAC cases, where risk of re-offending escalates from medium to high. This trend became particularly apparent when the Early Release Scheme was introduced in 2024, where weakened restrictions on perpetrators placed greater pressure on specialist staff to act in survivors’ best interests.”
The Ministry of Justice says people registered under the Victim Contact Scheme with perpetrators serving a Standard Determinate Sentence have been sent an initial courtesy letter informing them of the upcoming changes, and further updates will be provided. The government says the upcoming changes are being made to prevent prisons ‘running out of space entirely’.
The Ministry of Justice(Image: Getty Images)
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “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. Without this decisive action, prisons would’ve run out of space entirely, putting the public at untold risk.
“Under our changes, prisoners who misbehave can face longer behind bars and those convicted of the most serious crimes will be excluded from earlier release. We’re also strengthening supervision in the community – investing £700m into probation, recruiting 1,300 additional probation officers this year, and ensuring every prison leaver is tagged unless there is clear reason not to.”