Burnham 'pauses' Labour's early release of prisoners for 'urgent review' after outrage at freeing of PC Harper's killers

Burnham 'pauses' Labour's early release of prisoners for 'urgent review' after outrage at freeing of PC Harper's killers - See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Andy Burnham today announced a 'pause' on Labour's prison early release scheme amid an outrage at PC Andrew Harper's killers being freed from jail. The Prime Minister said he and his new Justice Secretary Alex Norris would conduct an 'urgent review' of the policy, which had been due to start on September 2. The move threatens to plunge the prisons system into fresh chaos, with Mr Burnham insisting no prisoners will be released under the scheme until the review is complete. It will leave officials scrambling to work out prison release plans for thousands of criminals who are due to become eligible for early release after serving as little as a third of their sentence. The PM indicated the scheme - which had been Labour's solution to the prison overcrowding crisis under Keir Starmer's administration - could yet face a major overhaul by Mr Norris, with Mr Burnham saying he would 'not hesitate' to make changes. 'Keeping the public safe will always be my top priority,' he said in a statement. 'I am working closely with the new Justice Secretary and have instructed my team to put a pause on the changes that were due to start in September. 'No prisoners will be let out under this policy until we have conducted an urgent review and done everything we can to minimise risk to the public. Where changes are needed, we will not hesitate to make them.' Mr Norris, who has only been in charge at the Ministry of Justice since Monday, said around 700 prisoners who had been set for early release in September would now no longer be released as part of a first tranche. Andy Burnham has announced a 'pause' on Labour's prison early release scheme amid an outrage at PC Andrew Harper's killers being freed from jail PC Harper was 28 when he sustained fatal injuries while responding to a quad bike theft in Sulhamstead, Berkshire, in August 2019 Under the new Sentencing Act, some 6,000 criminals are due to be released under the early prison release scheme. The Government has so far failed to say whether killers, rapists and paedophiles will be exempt from the scheme. Asked if any prisoners would still be released under the scheme from September, the Justice Secretary told reporters: 'The PM has been very clear that the September 2 date is now on pause. 'I want to be clear for victims and survivors that that's the case. Prison governors, prison officers as well are doing a really important job in implementing these sorts of changes. 'We'll be giving them the most information we can so they can do this operationally. 'We're mindful of how difficult a job they've got. If they could give us a little bit of time just to make sure we get this right.' He added: 'The PM and I have heard from victims and survivors, and from people across the country, about their concerns about the implementation of some very important elements of the Sentencing Act. 'We've taken the decision to pause it because we want to get any implementation right, to take those views of victims and survivors to be at the heart of it.' Mr Burnham had previously paved the way for a U-turn when he promised to 'look at' the scheme on Wednesday, as he addressed anger at the possible early release of two of PC Harper's killers. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) had confirmed Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers – who were each handed 13 years in custody for manslaughter after a trial into PC Harper's death at the Old Bailey in 2020 – might be eligible to be released early. PC Harper's mother Debbie Adlam said Mr Burnham's decision to pause the plan for the early release of prisoners is a 'good start' but 'not enough'. She told ITV News: 'It's not enough. It's a good start, and it really is a good basis to begin working on some sensible alternatives and looking at options for going forward, because there's so many people this affects, it's not just us. 'It's incredibly personal to us, but it's not just us. And I think it really needs a good looking at, not just a quick meeting and 'that's it, we'll move on'. 'It needs to be looked at thoroughly and that's what I'm hoping for. We want to see some results from it.' Lissie Harper, the widow of PC Harper, had previously said it was 'deplorable' that Cole and Bowers could have become eligible to be released from prison after serving half of their sentences, rather than two-thirds. PC Harper was 28 when he sustained fatal injuries while responding to a quad bike theft in Sulhamstead, Berkshire, in August 2019. He died after getting caught in a strap attached to the back of a car and dragged down a country road as three teenage suspects fled the scene of the burglary. Cole and Bowers, who were passengers in the car, were both 17 years old at the time. The driver of the vehicle which caused PC Harper's death, Henry Long, received a 16-year sentence, and will not be eligible for the early release scheme. Mrs Harper, who was married for just 28 days before PC Harper's death, on Wednesday piled pressure on Mr Burnham to rethink the policy as she said it is 'deplorable' that two of her late husband's killers are being considered for early release. She added that politicians are 'making decisions from behind a desk that will have real and lasting consequences' for the families of victims. PC Harper responded to the quad bike call just hours after he had been due to clock off and begin his honeymoon with wife Mrs Harper. After her husband's death, Mrs Harper campaigned for legal changes to see harsher sentences for the manslaughter of emergency workers on duty. Harper's Law was among the new measures in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act. The move extends mandatory life sentences to anyone who commits the manslaughter of an emergency worker on duty including police, prison officers, firefighters and paramedics. But it is not retrospective, meaning PC Harper's killers cannot have their sentences extended. The Ministry of Justice has confirmed Jessie Cole, left, and Albert Bowers might be eligible to be released from prison halfway through their sentences PC Harper and Lissie Harper were married just four weeks before the Thames Valley Police officer was killed in 2019 Responding to Mr Burnham's announcement of a 'pause' to the scheme, Aileen O'Connor, chair of Thames Valley Police Federation, the force which represented PC Harper, said: 'Police Officers will be pleased to hear the Prime Minister and Government have acted swiftly and decisively to address our significant concerns. 'The smirking lowlifes that killed our colleague PC Andrew Harper should be serving every minute of their sentences behind bars. Colleagues remain angry, devastated and frustrated that their early release was even being considered. 'Overall our position remains firm. If you assault or kill a police officer courageously carrying out their duty on behalf of the public there should be no early release. Anything else is an insult.' Reform UK's home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf said his party would 'deport all foreign nationals in our jails and use the space to end early release so violent criminals stay where they belong: in jail'. Sir Robert Buckland KC, a former Tory Justice Secretary who worked on the legislation to create Harper's Law while in Government, told the Daily Mail: 'I welcome what the Prime Minister has announced, the pause, but let's see what the upshot is. 'A review will only be meaningful if there is a change - and that change will need to be making sure that violent and sexual offenders, and in this case the killers of PC Harper, are not released early. 'Let's hope this change comes quickly.' Jade Belgrove, a survivor of sexual assault who had been campaigning against the early release scheme, said it was 'such a relief that we have been heard'. In an emotional TV interview, she described how she received an email earlier this month informing that her attacker might be eligible for the early release scheme. 'It's been horrific, to be honest,' she added. Some staff working in the prisons system questioned Mr Burnham's move to pause the early release scheme. One prison officer told the BBC: 'We're super overcrowded – this isn't great news. If we don't let people out in September, we could be at a critical point come November where we're at full capacity. It's a bonkers decision.' But another said there was a 'need to properly evaluate the risk some of these prisoners could pose if released in the autumn'. 'Public safety must come first,' they added. 'The real problem is the lack of staff who have to maintain control of our overcrowded jails. We just don't have enough prison officers.' Mr Burnham had already said he would review the early release policy, telling reporters on Wednesday: 'I can't say that I can change the policy completely, but I will look at it in detail before we go further forward.' The PM was also forced to rebuke his Cabinet ministers for joking about Labour letting prisoners out. He branded it 'unacceptable' for Defence Secretary Wes Streeting and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to quip about Mr Norris wanting to 'let them all out'. It came after Mr Streeting said he was 'sorry for any offence inadvertently caused' for his remarks to Mr Norris. Ms Mahmood also said there was 'no ill intent' about the 'ribbing' of the Justice Secretary, which was caught on camera in a 'hot mic' moment. In the overheard comments, Mr Streeting suggested to Ms Mahmood that Mr Norris was 'the enemy now' and 'wants to let them all out', with the Home Secretary seen laughing at Mr Streeting's remarks. The Government has been urged to free non-violent women from prisons instead of dangerous criminals. In the House of Lords on Thursday, which is still sitting despite MPs having already begun their six-week summer break from the House of Commons, Labour frontbencher Lord Katz insisted a 'sophisticated response' to prison overcrowding is needed, as he was asked, 'What the hell do (the Government) think they're doing?' Conservative former solicitor general Lord Garnier said: 'There are 3,650 women in prison in England and Wales, and about 2,500 of those people – that's to say, 70 per cent of the women's prison population – are in custody for non-violent offences. 'If the Government thinks it's better to release violent criminals, child sex offenders, rather than that non-violent cohort of women in prison, and fails to take the opportunity to free up prison places there, by re-rolling those from a women's prison into a prison for men, what the hell do they think they're doing?' In his response, Lord Katz said: 'It is a complex progression scheme to ensure that we are able to create the capacity that we need in our prison system. 'There aren't a lot of easy options, but also there are more sophisticated responses to the kind of the very simplistic problem he posed.' Leading lawyer and independent crossbencher Lord Pannick said: 'Can the minister explain why prison numbers cannot be adequately reduced by early release of those who are not subject to the most severe sentences? For example, those who are serving ten years or less.' Lord Katz did not respond directly to this question. He said the Sentencing Act aims to 'cut the cycle' of short sentences, adding: 'We need to make sure that if people go to prison, they're in there for long enough, and it does a proper job of rehabilitation.' Shadow Home Office minister Lord Davies of Gower pressed ministers on whether they 'do not consider those involved in the killing of police officers as among the most serious and heinous offenders'. Lord Katz replied: 'Certainly this Government, like the previous government, would consider the murder of police officers, anybody involved in protecting us, any of the emergency services, people who run to danger when we might run away from it, the most serious and heinous of offences.'