Public Outrage Explodes Over UK Early Release Scheme Threatening to Free Cop Killers and Sex Offenders

PM Andy Burnham under pressure as public fury mounts over the UK early release scheme, which could see convicted cop killers and some sex offenders freed from prison sooner than expected (Credit: House of Commons/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)

Andy Burnham once insisted there was little more he could do to stop serious offenders being released early without risking the collapse of Britain's overcrowded prison system.

Now, after days of fury, a petition approaching 900,000 signatures and an extraordinary intervention by 50 senior policing figures, the prime minister has ordered Justice Secretary Alex Norris to find a way to keep PC Andrew Harper's killers behind bars.