Justice Secretary Alex Norris has apologised to the family of a 28-year-old police constable after it was confirmed his killers will be eligible for early release from jail.
PC Andrew Harper's mum Debbie Adlam said her family are "bitterly disappointed" after learning manslaughter charges would not be included on an exemption list from planned sentencing reforms.
Government's early release scheme
Andy Burnham announced on Monday that rape, serious child sexual offences and grooming would be excluded from the scheme. The PM - who paused the plans in his first week in power - admitted he wanted to stop more offenders being released early but that Tory neglect of jails mean the system is on the brink of collapse.
Mr Norris said he and Mr Burnham were both "angry" they were being forced to carry out the measures to have a "functioning prison system". But they warned the alternative would see jails run out of space in the autumn, with new criminals unable to be locked up.
He told Sky News: "Were we not to make these changes, then we would run out of prison places in this October or November. I know that's difficult. I know that's created harm, and it's not Lissie Harper's fault, and I'm sorry that she's been put into this situation as a result, I genuinely am. But this is a decision we've had to take to make sure we have a functioning prison system."
He added that the latest changes to the early release scheme would see 5,000 prisoners released over 10 months, down from the original 6,000.
Family's reaction
When asked whether she accepted Mr Norris's apology, Ms Adlam said: "I do know that he was sorry, but there surely has to be other answers, other ways to look at and other things to explore. This decision was made very quickly."
She continued: "We are bitterly disappointed. I don't feel like we should be in this position. It's not somewhere we would expect to be. We really feel we should have more support than this and, you know, Andrew deserves better than this and so do we."
She added that she and her family "are paying the price" for prison overcrowding, telling BBC Newsnight on Monday: "Apparently, the situation is, if nothing was done, then the prison system would fall completely. But we're paying the price for it. It's Andrew and his family, and many others like us, we're paying the price."
PC Harper's death
PC Harper sustained fatal injuries while responding to a quad bike theft in Sulhamstead, Berkshire, in August 2019. The 28-year-old police officer 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.
The driver of the vehicle, Henry Long, received a 16-year sentence and would not have been eligible for the Government's scheme.
Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, who were passengers in the car and sentenced to 13 years for manslaughter following a trial at the Old Bailey in 2020, would become eligible for release after serving half of their sentences.
Alternative measures
Mr Burnham on Tuesday said he has asked Mr Norris to identify other ways to free up prison space, including converting more of the women's prisons estate to hold male inmates and speeding up deportations of foreign national offenders.
Under the Sentencing Act, which became law earlier this year, prisoners serving time for some violent or sexual offences will become eligible for release halfway through their sentences, rather than serving the current tariff of two-thirds. Criminals including burglars and thieves are among prisoners who will be considered for release a third of the way through their sentences, down from the current 40%.
In his first week in power, Mr Burnham paused plans to release prisoners early in September after listening to concerns from victims. And on Monday night, he announced anyone found guilty of rape, serious child sexual offences and grooming will be blocked from the early release scheme, which will now come into force in October.
He added: "The truth is I wanted to go even further. I know there will be concerns about who will still be released early for other offences. I have pushed to the very limits of what is possible to do. I know I can look people in the eye and say to them there is nothing more I could have asked for without risking the prison system reaching capacity and collapsing within months."
Mr Burnham also assured the public offenders would be closely monitored after their release, including through curfews and electronic monitoring.
Probation concerns
But probation union Napo raised concerns about the additional workload for staff managing offenders' releases. Ian Lawrence, Napo's General Secretary, said: "Everyone is talking about prisons, and yes it is bad, but the crisis in probation is far worse. But yet again, our members are being overlooked while all the attention is on prison. Without probation none of this can happen, so the service needs to be front and centre to this discussion."
