Pc Andrew Harper’s killers will not be freed from jail early, Andy Burnham has signalled.
The Prime Minister said he was “increasingly confident” that a solution will be found to the prison overcrowding crisis to “prevent their early release”.
Mr Burnham has asked Justice Secretary Alex Norris to “fast-track” a series of options to address the storm over the early release of prisoners which could see some killers freed.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, he said: “I understand the depth of public concern about the potential early release of those involved with the killing of Pc Andrew Harper - and I share it.
“I fully appreciate the anguish of Andrew’s family and, more broadly, of all those victims and their families who may see those who caused them such harm not serve their full sentence.”
Mr Norris has been told to produce a plan within weeks to create “more headroom within the prison system”.
Mr Burnham explained that it will be based on three strands:
* Increasing the rate of removal of foreign national offenders from the prison estate to their country of origin
* Finding an early resolution to the “long-running injustice” of IPP (imprisonment for public protection) sentences, which could allow for the release of lower-risk prisoners
* Making greater use of the entire prison estate including using the female estate for male offenders
Mr Burnham added: “I am increasingly confident that a more focused approach along these lines will allow us to reduce the number of people released early and, in the case of the most serious offenders like those convicted of the killing of PC Harper, prevent their early release altogether.”
Earlier, communities minister Sally Jameson, on the morning media round for the Government, appeared to confirm that “a solution” had already been identified to keep Pc Harper’s killers behind bars.
“It is important that we find a way, and I'm sure the Justice Secretary will find a way to make sure that Pc Harper's killers are not released early,” she told Times Radio on Tuesday.
Mr Burnham’s move comes amid increasing pressure from Pc Harper’s family and the police not to allow Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, who were sentenced to 13 years for manslaughter, to be freed in January under existing plans.
On Monday, Downing Street said it was “not possible” to exempt “one or two offenders” convicted of manslaughter from the early release scheme.
However, Mr Norris will now look at ways to keep “a greater number of the the most serious offenders” behind bars.
A Government spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister has asked the Justice Secretary to work through further options to keep a greater number of the most serious offenders in prison, including the killers of Pc Harper.”
Pc Harper was fatally injured when he got caught in a strap attached to the back of a car and was dragged down a country road as the killers fled the scene of a quad bike theft in Sulhamstead, Berkshire, in 2019.
Two out of three of Pc Harper’s killers, Cole and Bowers, are set to be released half way through their 13-year sentences, after being convicted of manslaughter in 2020.
Some 5,000 people are expected to be released early under sentencing changes, down from 6,000 after some exemptions were announced as part of an urgent review of the scheme to tackle jail overcrowding.
Exemptions were made for those convicted of rape, serious child sex offences and grooming offences.
Last week, the Prime Minister said he had “pushed to the very limits of what is possible to do without risking the prison system reaching capacity and collapsing” by making these exemptions.
However, more than 880,000 people have signed a petition calling for Pc Harper’s killers to remain in jail.
No10 said on Monday that manslaughter of an emergency worker was “not a standalone offence” and it was “not possible to simply exclude one or two offenders” within the wider category of manslaughter.
The early release changes were part of the Sentencing Act passed earlier this year that cut the minimum amount of time many offenders would have to spend in prison.
Those freed will face tougher probation conditions, including electronic monitoring, random drug testing and possible bans from driving, pubs and events such as football matches.
