Andy Burnham says he can keep PC Harper's killers behind bars

The Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has said he is increasingly confident of stopping two of the killers of PC Andrew Harper from being released early under a prisoner early release scheme. He has asked the Justice Secretary to draw up a plan to be presented to Parliament in September that would keep a greater number of serious offenders in prison, including the two men convicted over the police officer's death.

PC Harper was 28 when he was killed in 2019. He was dragged behind a car while responding to a report of a quad bike theft, just a month after his wedding. The driver, Henry Long, was given 16 years and is not part of the early release programme. But his passengers, Albert Bowers and Jesse Cole, who were convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 13 years, are eligible for release in January, after serving half their terms.

The government's early release scheme is designed to ease chronic overcrowding in prisons in England and Wales, which are operating at around 98% capacity. Last week, Mr Burnham said rapists, serious child sex offenders and grooming gang members would be barred from early release, but he also said he had pushed to the very limits of what was possible. Downing Street then said it was not possible to exempt one or two individuals convicted of manslaughter, because the law does not allow a carve-out for individual prisoners. That position changed within 24 hours.

On Thursday, after a week of mounting pressure, the Prime Minister said he had never accepted that nothing more could be done. "I have been pushing for further progress. I have not accepted that it is impossible to do more," he said. A government spokesman confirmed the Justice Secretary had been asked to draw up further options to keep the most serious offenders in prison, including those involved in PC Harper's death.

The turn of events follows an enormous public outcry. A petition calling for the killers to be kept in jail has passed one million signatures. Fifty senior police leaders, including the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, have written to the Prime Minister asking him to examine every lawful option to prevent the early release. They said officers would question what message it sends about the value placed on their service and sacrifice.

PC Harper's mother, Debbie Adlam, said the last few weeks had been a "rollercoaster of hope" and that the family had been given little information. She criticised the Prime Minister for not contacting her directly, saying he should come and see her. "I'm more angry than ever," she said. She added that she would keep up the fight until the killers are kept in prison.

The Prime Minister has said the proposal will be to find new ways of freeing up prison space, rather than letting more offenders out early. Options being discussed include deporting more foreign national offenders, using the women's prison estate to hold male prisoners, and reducing the number of people serving indefinite sentences for public protection. One alternative, exempting anyone convicted of manslaughter from early release, would add around 950 prisoners to an already full system. A more targeted approach might be to exclude those serving longer manslaughter sentences, but that would still be a substantial cohort.

Ministers admit that none of these choices is easy. The Conservatives say the government has been making constant U-turns, which are re-traumatising victims and their families. The Prime Minister is expected to lay out a plan when Parliament returns in September. But whatever he decides, other cases will remain that will test the balance between protecting the public and dealing with a prison system in crisis.