Andy Burnham said he is “increasingly confident” the killers of Pc Andrew Harper will not be released early from their sentences, as he set out plans to ease the prison capacity crisis.
The Prime Minister said action can be taken to free up prison space to reduce the number of people released early.
Mr Burnham 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.
“It is incumbent on me as Prime Minister to do everything within my power to minimise that possibility. And I am determined to do so.”
He said Justice Secretary Alex Norris had been asked to fast-track proposals to create “more headroom” in the prison system, including through deporting more foreign offenders, finding a solution for people on indeterminate sentences and using cells previously holding female inmates to accommodate male offenders.
“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,” Mr Burnham said.
The plans will be presented to Parliament when MPs and peers return from their summer break next month.
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, Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, are set to be released next year halfway through their 13-year sentences, after being convicted of manslaughter in 2020.
Before the changes in the Sentencing Act, passed earlier this year, they would have served two-thirds of their term.
Mr Burnham announced a review of the early release plans shortly after taking office in the wake of a public outcry about the potential release of Bowers and Cole.
The review resulted in changes last week to prevent rapists and paedophiles being released early but there was nothing to change the status of Pc Harper’s killers.
At the time, Mr Burnham said he had gone as far as he could – but after returning from his summer holiday he has now said further action can be taken.
Pc Harper’s mother said she had received a call from Downing Street on Monday night and has “got a little bit of hope that we didn’t have before” that the killers will not be released early.
Discussing the call she had with a member of the Prime Minister’s staff, Debbie Adlam told BBC Breakfast: “She said that he wanted to convey that he wants to do everything that he can and has more hope now of finding a resolution to this to try and keep them in prison.
“I think the fact that it’s actually come from Downing Street – I’ve got to try and have some faith in it but, at the same time, I have to protect my own feelings.”
But she added: “It feels like a hash. It feels like a rush job. It feels like nobody’s put enough effort into actually look for reasons or ways.
“We are having to push on every level, and it just doesn’t feel like, as a British citizen, I shouldn’t be doing this. They weren’t given extreme sentences, and I’m only asking for them to do what they were given.”
Thames Valley Police Federation chairwoman Aileen O’Connor said she was “hopeful” the Government would prevent the release of Pc Harper’s killers.
“There is a glimmer of hope and encouragement with this message from the Prime Minister Andy Burnham,” she said.
“But we have heard mixed messages before.
“The Government still need to get on the right side of this and listen to public and policing opinion.”
She added that the Government’s actions so far “have sent a deeply troubling message” about the value they place on police officers.
“Their actions so far have been totally demoralising for all police officers – not just in Thames Valley, but right across the country,” she said.
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