Prime Minister Andy Burnham has asked his Justice Secretary to “work through further options” to prevent the early release of Pc Andrew Harper’s killers.
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.
However, Justice Secretary Alex 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.
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.
According to The Times, a Government source told the newspaper: “[Burnham] has never accepted that he would be forced to choose between perpetrators of rape, grooming and the killers of police officers.
“The public wasn’t satisfied with that answer and neither was he.
“He has never accepted the line that it is impossible to prevent the release of the most serious offenders and has continued to push the system on a daily basis.
“He is now increasingly confident that a solution can be found to prevent the release of the killers of Pc Harper.
“He has asked the Justice Secretary to present a plan to Parliament that keeps a greater number of the most serious offenders in prison, including the killers of Pc Harper.”
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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