Labour Justice Secretary Alex Norris has personally contacted the family of PC Andrew Harper to say sorry over the planned early release of the officer’s killers, while making clear the Government will not change course.
In a call with Harper’s mother, Debbie Adlam, Mr Norris said ministers believed the prison estate was under such severe pressure that it would “fall completely” if thousands of prisoners were not allowed out ahead of schedule.
His apology followed the decision by Andy Burnham to approve a wider early-release scheme that could see thousands of offenders — including killers, violent criminals and paedophiles — leave custody sooner than expected.
The Prime Minister had put the contentious proposals on hold last month after a fierce public backlash, triggered in part by revelations that two of PC Andrew Harper’s killers could benefit from the scheme.
PC Harper’s widow, Lissie Harper, condemned the possibility as a “disgusting betrayal”, saying she was “beyond appalled and bristling with anger” at the thought that the men responsible for Andrew’s death could soon be “free to roam the streets” as early as 2027.
After an emergency review of the policy, ministers have now agreed that rapists and the most serious sexual offenders will be barred from qualifying for early release.
However, Downing Street confirmed on Monday evening that the broader prison early-release programme will still proceed this autumn, allowing thousands of other serious offenders — including murderers and domestic abusers — to be freed early.
The scheme is expected to include the release in January of two of the three teenagers convicted over the death of PC Harper, who was dragged for more than a mile behind a car in 2019.
Andrew’s mother, Debbie Adlam, said Alex Norris called to apologise but told her that ‘if nothing was done, then the prison system would fall completely’.
But she said today: ‘We’re paying the price for it. It feels like we’re letting Andrew down again. We’ve been through the justice system. We thought we’d done as best as we could.
‘Now we’re standing up to fight again… so I just feel really let down, for Andrew’s sake as well as ours.’
Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police Jason Hogg said: ‘I am beyond disappointed the Government is continuing to allow PC Andrew Harper’s killers to be released early from prison despite the overwhelming recent public outcry.
‘It is simple: if Andrew’s killers were convicted today, they would receive life sentences due to the law that was created in his name. They would not be eligible for early release.
‘This decision is demoralising for all police officers and our fellow emergency service workers, not just in the Thames Valley, who put themselves in harm’s way to protect and serve their communities.’
Anger: Lissie Harper, seen with late husband PC Andrew Harper, has hit out at the early release decision
Smirking: Albert Bowers, left, and Jessie Cole could be among those released ‘within months’
Andy Burnham, who is now on holiday, acknowledged the ‘anger, anxiety and distress’ caused to victims by the early-release plans. He said the exclusion of rapists and the worst paedophiles were ‘significant changes’ but acknowledged ‘there will still be concerns about other offenders having their sentences shortened’.
The Prime Minister said he had ‘wanted to go further’ but added: ‘It’s not possible without the prison system reaching capacity and collapsing, which would put public safety at much greater risk.’
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: ‘Andy Burnham wants a round of applause for agreeing not to release rapists and child sex offenders. He’s not getting one.
‘This is only a partial climbdown. Killers, violent offenders, men who have terrorised their partners and more will all still walk out of prison in October thanks to Labour’s early release scheme.
‘Yet again victims are learning their fate from press releases. The victims of these horrific crimes have suffered weeks of uncertainty and fear. They deserve so much better.’
Martin Jones, HM Chief Inspector of Probation, told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme that there ‘is a real risk that things will go wrong’ if more clarity isn’t provided over the government’s early release scheme.
He said: ‘The probation service needs time to plan for those releases. And I can’t overstate how important it is that the probation service has taken the steps necessary to ensure that we know where people will be living after they leave prison, what conditions are in place, what protections need to be in place in relation to, for example, drug treatment [and] mental health treatment.
‘So that’s the work that at the moment is on pause, but it’s absolutely so important the probation service has that clarity so that it can ensure that the necessary plans are in place.
‘And unless we get that [clarity], I think there is a real risk that things will go wrong.’
He spoke about the strain which the probation service is under, and called for ‘a much greater focus’ on communication with victims.
‘Now, we currently have nearly 90,000 people in our prisons, but the probation service is managing a caseload of near 260,000, so nearly three times as many people being managed in the community. And last year, somewhere in the region of 55,000 people were released.
‘And as somebody who was formerly chief executive of the parole, looking at the most complex, difficult, dangerous cases in the system, getting that communication right to victims is absolutely vital.
‘I think there needs to be a much greater focus on that communication with victims to ensure it’s accurate and it’s sensitive to the concerns that they have.’
Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Dame Nicole Jacobs, said: ‘The decision to not exclude domestic abuse perpetrators from this scheme is wrong and puts victims lives at risk.’
The early-release plans mean that thousands of serious offenders who would normally have served two thirds of their sentence before being considered for release, will now be let out after only half of their term.
Less serious offenders, who would normally have served half of their sentence, will be released after only a third of their jail time.
The changes to the system are designed to be permanent, although plans to implement them have been delayed until October.
Justice secretary Alex Norris said those released early would face ‘tougher supervision’ on release, including tagging, exclusion zones and random drug tests. The number of areas using chemical castration to ‘help manage the drivers of sexual offending’ will be doubled.
Probation officers will also be given the power to ban some offenders from driving, pubs and football matches.
Deborah Adlam, the mother of Pc Andrew Harper, who says her family is ‘paying the price’ after learning her son’s killers remain eligible for early release under the Government’s planned sentencing changes
The changes announced by Mr Burnham are expected to cut the number of serious offenders earmarked for early release by around 1,000 to 5,000.
Rapists and those convicted of the most serious child sex and grooming gang offences will now be excluded from the early-release provision. However, thousands of other serious criminals can still look forward to early freedom. These include those with convictions for manslaughter, domestic abuse, child pornography, drug dealing and wounding with intent.
Mr Burnham insisted keeping the public safe is his ‘top priority’. But he said the prisons crisis made early release inevitable.
Mr Norris has been ordered to ‘accelerate’ the prison building programme, although there were no details on Monday night of what this means in practice.
The Prime Minister pledged to ‘deliver the fastest prison building programme since the Victorian era and do what’s necessary to fix the prison crisis’.
But the failure to halt the early release of PC Harper’s killers is likely to raise questions about his judgment.
The 28-year-old officer was killed in August 2019 after responding to reports of a stolen quad bike in Berkshire. He suffered horrific injuries after getting caught in a strap attached to a getaway car driven by Henry Long, who was jailed for 16 years. Long’s accomplices Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers were both sentenced in 2020 to 13 years for manslaughter.
But the pair, who were pictured laughing during the trial, will now be released in the coming months.
Lissie Harper said: ‘This is disgusting. How dare ministers say the killing of a police officer is not enough of a ‘sickening crime’ that deserves the stiffest of punishments.
‘The level of disrespect the Government are showing to Andrew and other victims – and to their loved ones – is beyond contempt.’
Shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy welcomed the decision to bar rapists from the scheme but said the Government’s climbdown ‘doesn’t go far enough’.
He added: ‘One of Andy Burnham’s first acts as prime minister will be to let thousands of criminals – including killers and paedophiles – out early.’
