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 Government has said it will set out how it will exempt Pc Andrew Harper’s killers from its early release scheme, along with other serious criminals, when Parliament returns in September.
Communities Secretary Angela Rayner told LBC that Mr Norris would tell MPs what Labour’s plans are when the Commons returns after its summer break.
Ms Rayner said: “The Prime Minister is really clear, the Justice Secretary will come to Parliament in September to lay out our plans on how we keep the most serious criminals in jail.”
Presenter Nick Ferrari clarified: “And that would include killers of police officers?”
Ms Rayner replied: “Yes.”
She continued: “The Prime Minister is really clear that these people that have created the most abhorrent crimes should not be released early and that he wants to set out in September with the Justice Secretary how we can resolve this issue.”
It 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, but later said Mr Norris would look at ways to keep “a greater number of the most serious offenders” behind bars.
Speaking to broadcasters on Tuesday, housing minister Sally Jameson said: “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.
“He’s looking for solutions, and a solution’s been identified.”
But it is understood a solution has not yet been found, although Mr Norris is looking at a range of potential options.
Ms Rayner suggested those options include speeding up the deportation of foreign criminals, reviewing indeterminate sentences, and looking at women prisoner jail terms.
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 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 900,000 people have signed a petition calling for Pc Harper’s killers to remain in jail.
Number 10 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.
Pc Harper’s mother said she had received a call from Downing Street on Monday 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 told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I genuinely believe that the powers that be, Andy Burnham, and the difficult decisions that they have to make, he will make the right choices here, and he will come on board with us, and he’ll get the right side of the line.”
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.
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