Esther McVey has called on the Prime Minister to "grow a pair" and ensure that all 950 prisoners serving sentences for manslaughter in England and Wales remain behind bars, following reports that Andy Burnham is considering which killers to release early.
Pressure over early release
Government officials have reportedly told Burnham that the only legally sound way to keep PC Harper's killers in prison is to block the early release of the entire cohort of manslaughter convicts. However, they have also warned that prisons are overcrowded and that keeping all 950 inside is not feasible.
McVey, writing in an opinion piece, said the Prime Minister should instruct civil servants that all convicts will stay in prison and draw up alternative plans. She suggested getting the Bibby Stockholm barge up and running or renting prison spaces from other countries.
Criticism of other policies
McVey also criticised reported plans by Burnham to rejoin the EU Single Market and extend the nuclear deterrent across the continent, calling it "economic suicide" and a betrayal of his Brexit-voting constituents.
She further attacked Net Zero Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh for sending her children to private schools while supporting Labour's VAT policy on school fees, which has already forced 30,000 children to leave private schools.
Call to revive moth plan
In a lighter note, McVey lamented that a 1989 plan to use moths bred at Porton Down to destroy Peru's cocaine supply was never implemented, citing the current annual value of Peruvian cocaine at up to $35 billion and about 30,000 global deaths from cocaine each year.
