Relieved crime victims & cops welcome major Labour U-turn as Burnham halts prisoner early release scheme after protests

CRIME victims, campaigners and cops welcomed Andy Burnham’s decision to pause plans to free around 5,000 prisoners early. The new PM stepped in after it emerged the releases, due to start on September 2, were set to include two of PC Andrew Harper’s killers. The 28-year-old was dragged to his death by a burglary gang’s getaway car on his last shift before his honeymoon. Widow Lissie successfully fought for a law change in his name. Aileen O’Connor, chair of the Thames Valley Police Federation branch, 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 should be serving every minute of their sentences. Read more on PC Andrew Harper “We remain angry, devastated and frustrated that their early release was even being considered.” Katie Kempen, chief executive at Victim Support, said: “Suspending this scheme will come as a huge relief to victims and survivors fearing offenders could be released far sooner than expected. “It is completely unacceptable that victims continue paying the price for our broken justice system. “The Government must now use this pause to put victims’ needs first.” Most read in The Sun Victims’ Commissioner Claire Waxman said: “Pressing ahead without proper safeguards for victims would have been wrong. “Thousands of victims have already been told the offenders who harmed them could be released early, leaving many living with renewed fear and uncertainty. “I am now seeking urgent clarity from ministers about what this decision means for victims, the timetable for what happens next, and how they will be protected and kept informed. “Victims deserve certainty, and their safety and confidence must come first.” Domestic Abuse commissioner Dame Nicole Jacobs said the scheme “would have seen dangerous abusers released into the community without any protections in place for survivors”. She added: “Ministers should never have underestimated the risk domestic abuse perpetrators pose to their victim. “They know where they live, where they work and where their children go to school and they will stop at nothing to control, coerce and harm.” The move marks another major Labour U-turn after ministers had repeatedly insisted the policy was necessary to stop prisons in England and Wales running out of space within months. Mr Burnham said: “Keeping the public safe will always be my top priority. “I am working closely with the new Justice Secretary and have instructed my team to put a pause on the changes. “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 Burnham had already signalled he was prepared to look at the policy after questions were raised over the PC Harper case. But the announcement goes much further — freezing the entire scheme. PC Harper died in August 2019, responding to the theft of a quad bike near Sulhamstead, Berks. He became entangled in a heavy-duty strap trailing from the gang’s Seat Toledo and was dragged for more than a mile along country roads. Driver Henry Long was jailed for 16 years for manslaughter and is not eligible for the early release scheme because of the length of his sentence. But passengers Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, 18 when they were jailed in 2020, could have been eligible after just half of their 13-year sentences instead of two thirds. Lissie Harper, 35, branded the plans “deplorable”. She was awarded the MBE in 2023 for getting Harper’s Law on the books — introducing mandatory life sentences for anyone convicted of killing an emergency worker while carrying out another crime. Yesterday, before the pause was announced, PC Harper’s mother Debbie Adlam told of the family’s pain and called on Mr Burnham to “look at the big picture”. Earlier, Thames Valley Police Chief Constable Jason Hogg wrote to the PM, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Justice Secretary Alex Norris urging a rethink. The Government has not yet said which offenders could ultimately be excluded from the scheme. But ministers are facing demands to exempt killers, rapists, child sex offenders and those convicted of serious attacks on 999 staff. Mr Norris said: “We’ve heard very strongly from victims and victims’ advocates about their desire for that greater say in it, and that’s part of this review to make sure that they get that.” He insisted changes to sentences were a “very important part” of Labour’s plans to free up prison space. And he added: “Prison governors and officers are doing a really important job in implementing these changes. “We’ll be giving them the information we can so they can do this operationally, mindful of how difficult a job they’ve got.” Former Tory Justice Secretary David Gauke, whose sentencing review underpinned the reforms, warned there may be scope for only “narrowly focused” exemptions. He said that broader carve-outs risk pushing prisons back towards crisis point.