PC Harper's killers to stay in jail as PM announces changes to early release scheme
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced that killers of police officers will be excluded from early release schemes to address public concerns. The policy change aims to manage prison overcrowding while ensuring those convicted of serious crimes serve their full sentences.
Why it matters
This illustrates the balance between prison capacity management and public demand for justice in high-profile criminal cases.
Figure caption, Watch: PM confirms PC Harper's killers will remain in prison
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has told the BBC that PC Andrew Harper's killers will remain behind bars as he announced changes to the early release scheme aimed at easing prison overcrowding.
In an exclusive interview with BBC Breakfast, Burnham said anyone convicted of unlawful killing, including manslaughter, will be excluded from the scheme, which would have made two of the officer's killers eligible for early release.
Burnham said extra prison space would be created by deporting foreign prisoners and releasing some inmates serving indefinite sentences.
It follows months of campaigning from PC Harper's family and former colleagues to block the release of his killers.
The 28-year-old was responding to a burglary in Berkshire in 2019 when he was dragged along a road by a vehicle as three teenagers fled the scene of a quad bike theft.
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