Prime Minister Andy Burnham has been told he must urgently “listen to public and police opinion”, after he asked his justice secretary to explore a way to keep two of PC Andrew Harper's killers behind bars.
A Government spokesperson said Mr Burnham had told Alex Norris to “work through further options to keep a greater number of the most serious offenders in prison, including the killers of PC Harper”.
Move follows early release scheme
The move came just hours after Number 10 reiterated it was “not possible” for the government to exempt just the killers of PC Harper from the early release scheme coming into effect in October.
Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, both convicted of the manslaughter of the Thames Valley Police officer, are set to be eligible to be let out as part of the government's efforts to ease prison overcrowding.
Police Federation response
Responding to the latest development, Aileen O’Connor, chair of Thames Valley Police Federation, described it as “a glimmer of hope and encouragement.”
But she added: “We have heard mixed messages before. The Government still need to get on the right side of this and listen to public and policing opinion.”
She highlighted the strength of public feeling, noting: “We are now over 900,000 signatures on our petition calling for the Government to stop the early release of the killers of PC Andrew Harper. And it still grows.”
O’Connor emphasized that this is about justice for Andrew and his family, and that police officers across the country are demoralized by the government's actions so far.
