Andy Burnham has said he "does not want to see a single prisoner" released early as he addressed plans to free up space within the jail system. The Prime Minister has faced pressure over existing plans to free prisoners in January under the early release scheme, heightened by the potential early release of PC Andrew Harper's killers, Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers.
Pressure over early release scheme
On Monday, Downing Street said it was "not possible" to exempt "one or two offenders" convicted of manslaughter from the scheme, but later said Justice Secretary Alex Norris will look at ways to keep "a greater number of the most serious offenders" behind bars. Today (August 11), Mr Burnham said he is "increasingly confident" PC Harper's killers will not be released early because ways can be found to free up prison space for serious offenders.
The Prime Minister said he has been "pressing every single day to go further" on limiting the number of inmates who will be set free as part of the measures to reduce overcrowding. Mr Burnham said he had "never taken no for an answer" as he confirmed he had ordered Justice Secretary Alex Norris to draw up plans to increase the number of cells available to keep more serious offenders behind bars.
Prime Minister's commitment
Speaking during a visit in Derbyshire, he said: "I don’t want to see a single prisoner released early, and that’s the spirit that I’ve brought to the first three weeks that I’ve served as Prime Minister, and I’ve always worked like that. I’ve never taken no for an answer, not in the past dealing with Hillsborough and other issues, and not now when I’m facing the situation that I’m looking at now. It’s always been my style, I won’t give up, and I believe there is more I can do."
"It’s my job to speak up for the public on this issue. I take that duty very seriously indeed, and I’m confident that there’s more that can be done, and will be done to address public concern."
Plan to present to Parliament
Mr Burnham added: "What I have done since I came into office is push the system every single day to go further. I’ve not accepted it’s impossible to do more. I believe there is more that can be done. I have asked the Justice Secretary to present a plan in early September to Parliament to go further, so that we do not have to release as many people early, and that plan will include issues like returning more foreign national offenders to their country of origin, and looking at the injustice of IPP sentences, which have led to young people or young when they were imprisoned being imprisoned indeterminately, and that clearly is unfair."
He added: "I will talk to the other political parties about it because I believe it’s extremely important to build as much public and political consensus as we can around this difficult crisis within our prisons."
He also vowed to "keep close to the family" of PC Harper, who was fatally injured when he got caught in a strap attached to the back of a car and was dragged down a country road, adding both he and Justice Secretary Alex Norris are "in touch" with them.
