Prison Service warns PM: Exempting Harper killers triggers legal and capacity crisis
Officials caution that carving out an exception for PC Andrew Harper’s murderers would delay 500 other releases and risk prison overflow by November.
Prison Service officials have formally advised Prime Minister Andy Burnham that exempting the killers of PC Andrew Harper from the government’s early release scheme would necessitate further early releases within 18 months to maintain prison capacity. The warning underscores the operational constraints facing the Ministry of Justice as it attempts to manage severe overcrowding without triggering a legal crisis or halting police operations.
The government is currently implementing a plan to release 5,000 prisoners over a 10-month period, beginning in October, to free up space. Under the current schedule, Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, who were convicted of the manslaughter of PC Harper, are due for release in January. However, officials have cautioned that creating a specific exemption for these two individuals would effectively require excluding all offenders convicted of manslaughter from the scheme.
A Whitehall source indicated that blocking the release of Cole and Bowers would likely delay the release of at least 500 other offenders with similar convictions. Ministers have been advised that attempting to carve out exclusions for specific individuals while maintaining the broader scheme exposes the government to significant legal challenges. The Prison Service has expressed deep concern that such a move would force a second wave of early releases before the next general election.
The Prime Minister has already pushed the scheme to its operational limits by exempting 1,000 sex offenders, including rapists and child sexual abuse perpetrators, from early release. This initial exemption reduced the number of spaces to be freed from 6,000 to 5,000. Downing Street stated that because manslaughter of an emergency worker is not a stand-alone offence, it is not legally feasible to isolate specific offenders without affecting the entire category of manslaughter convictions.
Former prisons watchdog Nick Hardwick cautioned against political interference in sentencing, arguing that "hard cases make bad law." He expressed unease at the suggestion that the government could draw up exemptions to satisfy public outcry, emphasising that politicians should not determine individual sentences. Hardwick noted that while the public sympathy for PC Harper is understandable, the principle of consistent sentencing must be preserved.
Ministry of Justice officials have projected that prisons could run out of places by November if the early release scheme is abandoned. A spokesperson for the Prime Minister stated that while Burnham wishes to go further, abandoning the scheme would result in prisons running out of space, police stopping arrests, and an inability to lock up convicted offenders. The government’s focus has now shifted to long-term fixes for the prison system to prevent a recurrence of the crisis.
Public pressure remains high, with a petition demanding intervention regarding the release of Harper’s killers having garnered nearly 900,000 signatures. Despite this, the administration maintains that the current trajectory is the only viable option to ensure public safety and operational continuity within the justice system.
