More than one million people have backed calls to keep PC Andrew Harper's killers behind bars. Relatives of serving police officers have said Labour's proposals are "absolutely disgraceful", adding killers "of serving emergency services should be held to the full account of their sentence".
Fury over early release eligibility
Fury has erupted after it emerged Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, who were jailed in connection with PC Harper's death, were eligible for early release. The petition described the controversial release scheme as "an insult to Andrew's family, his friends, his colleagues and the entire policing family".
Andy Burnham is under intense pressure over the case. He is desperately trying to find a way to keep Bowers and Cole behind bars after blocking the early release of some 1,000 rapists and child groomers. The Prime Minister has been warned he cannot block individual prisoners without including everyone convicted of the same offence.
Pressure on prison capacity
There are thought to be around 470 people convicted of manslaughter in jail, and officials believe that forcing all of them to serve their full sentences would risk pushing prison populations in England and Wales beyond their capacity.
Labour's early release scheme is slowly unravelling after Mr Burnham caved to growing anger. The Prime Minister insisted on Monday "there is more that can be done" after previously claiming he has "pushed the very limits" of who can be kept behind bars. He ordered Justice Secretary Alex Norris to free up more prison cells to keep dangerous criminals behind bars.
Plans to ease overcrowding
Male offenders could be moved to female prisons, under new plans, while prisoners jailed indefinitely under a controversial scheme first introduced in 2005 could be released. As overcrowding surged to record levels in 2024, Labour began releasing tens of thousands of prisoners early. Ministers insisted they had to overhaul sentencing to prevent a repeat of the crisis.
Many convicts will be out after spending just a third of their jail term in prison. Those sentenced to four years or more will only be let out after serving 50% of their sentence behind bars. The first tranche of releases has been delayed – from September to October. Criminals handed sentences of less than 18 months will be the first to benefit from Labour's softest sentencing reforms in a generation.
But many of the country's most dangerous people are still set to benefit from the scheme – including two of PC Andrew Harper's killers. Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole are set to be released next year halfway through their 13-year sentences, after being convicted of manslaughter in 2020. Before this year's Sentencing Act, they would have served two-thirds of their term.
