Burnham puts Labour’s early prisoner release scheme on hold

Andy Burnham has announced he is pausing the early release scheme for prisoners after it emerged that two people involved in the death of Andrew Harper could be freed within months.

The new prime minister vowed that “no prisoners will be let out under this policy” pending an “urgent review”, saying he would do everything he can “to minimise risk to the public”.

Some 5,000 prisoners were due to start being released from September as part of a policy, introduced under Sir Keir Starmer, to ease the overcrowding crisis in prisons.

But a row broke out about the policy on Wednesday after it was revealed that two of those responsible for the death of Pc Harper could be eligible for automatic release under the scheme.

The police officer was 28 years old when he sustained fatal injuries after getting caught in a strap attached to the back of a car as three teenage suspects fled the scene of a burglary in Berkshire in 2019.

Under the scheme, Henry Long, then aged 19, the driver of the car who was sentenced to 16 years, would not be eligible for the early release. But Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, who were both 18 at the time and handed 13 years in custody in 2020 for Pc Harper’s manslaughter, could be.

Announcing the pause on Thursday, the prime minister said: “Keeping the public safe will always be my top priority.

“I am working closely with the new justice secretary and have instructed my team to put a pause on the changes that were due to start in September.

“No prisoners will be let out under this policy until we have conducted an urgent review and done everything we can to minimise risk to the public. Where changes are needed, we will not hesitate to make them.”

Lissie Harper, Pc Harper’s widow, on Wednesday described the scheme as “deplorable” and accused politicians of “making decisions from behind a desk that will have real and lasting consequences” for the families of victims. T

She said: “It has taken me years to rebuild a life that was torn apart in a matter of moments. Years to pick up the pieces left behind by three men whose actions robbed Andrew of his life and stole our future.

“Now – once again – politicians are making decisions from behind a desk that will have real and lasting consequences for victims’ families like mine.”

She added: “It is deplorable to me that we have reached a point where releasing prisoners early is even considered acceptable. We speak of justice, accountability and standing with victims, yet decisions like this do the opposite.”

PC Harper’s mother also described the news that two of his killers could be released halfway through their sentences as an “insult”.

Meanwhile, the chief constable of Thames Valley Police, Jason Hogg, said it “feels wrong” for the killers to leave prison early. If they were being sentenced today, they would be handed life sentences under Harper’s Law, which was introduced in 2022 following a campaign from the officer’s family.

Mr Burnham said on Wednesday he wanted to make sure “everything has been looked at” before the policy goes ahead as planned in September.

“I can’t say that I can change the policy completely, but I will look at it in detail before we go further forward,” he said.

Prison overcrowding has forced successive governments into making emergency releases, with the Conservative administration’s End of Custody Supervised Licence scheme, launched in 2023, releasing over 10,000 inmates between 18 and 70 days early.

This was followed by Labour’s SDS40 scheme, which has seen 56,323 offenders released after serving 40 per cent of their prison term between September 2024 and December 2025.

Reforms in the Sentencing Act came after prisons came close to running out of space entirely last year, risking the “total breakdown of law and order” which would leave police unable to make arrests and courts unable to send offenders to custody, the then justice secretary Shabana Mahmood said.

It is based on a package of measures set out in David Gauke’s Independent Sentencing Review, which urged the government to take “decisive action” to ensure they are never forced to rely on the emergency releases again.

Unlike SDS40, the Sentencing Act reforms do not exclude those convicted of sex offences, domestic abuse and serious violent offences. However, those serving life sentences, extended sentences and imprisonment for public protection (IPP) jail terms will not be eligible.