The mother of PC Andrew Harper said her family are “bitterly disappointed” after the government revised plans to tackle overcrowding in prisons. Following pressure from victims, MPs and frontline prison officers, rapists, child sexual abusers and groomers will be excluded from the scheme for England and Wales, the government said on Monday.
But domestic abusers and killers will still be eligible for early release, including two men jailed for their role in the death of PC Harper, who sustained fatal injuries while responding to a quad bike theft in Sulhamstead, Berkshire, in August 2019.
Why is PC Harper’s mother upset?
“Quite frankly, we shouldn’t be in this position,” Debbie Adlam, PC Harper’s mother, told BBC Breakfast. She said it was “completely right” that rapists and paedophiles are not going to be released under the government’s latest plans, but added “they shouldn’t have been considered in the first place”.
This article includes content hosted on platform.x.com. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as the provider may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click “Allow and continue”.
Speaking to night, Adlam said she was “devastated” that two of her son’s killers remain eligible for early release.
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.
How many prisoners will be released under the revised scheme?
The justice secretary, Alex Norris, told this morning that the latest changes to the early release scheme would see 5,000 prisoners released over 10 months, down from 6,000. He said the government won’t need further emergency release schemes as sentencing changes would provide “long-term security” for prison capacity.
The prime minister, Andy Burnham, said he asked the justice secretary to consider the early release of more female prisoners, “given the lower risk they generally pose” in order to prevent further overcrowding. Burnham said he had “pushed to the very limits of what is possible” but was unable to exempt more criminals from the early release scheme without the prison system “collapsing within months”.
PC Harper’s wife, Lissie Harper, has expressed anger at the prospect that two of her late husband’s killers could be released early, calling it “an affront to justice” and “an utter betrayal”. The justice secretary said he understood the family’s “anger” and offered an apology.
Were we not to make these changes, then we would run out of prison places in this October or November.
I know that’s difficult. I know that’s created harm, and it’s not Lissie Harper’s fault, and I’m sorry that she’s been put into this situation as a result, I genuinely am.
What has the prime minister said about the prison crisis?
The prime minister, Andy Burnham, said on Tuesday that he would delay the planned early release of thousands of prisoners across and Wales by a month until October. It follows the suspension of Keir Starmer’s plans to release up to 6,000 offenders from prison early in September amid official predictions that prisons will be full in November.
in his second week as PM after coming under intense pressure from MPs, victims, campaigners and frontline prison officers to halt the early release of serious sexual and violent offenders.
I asked for an urgent review of the prisoner release scheme. I fully understand the anger, anxiety and distress that’s been caused. I’ve heard that loud and clear. That’s why we’re making significant changes: offenders who have been sentenced for rape, serious child sex offences and other grooming offences will be excluded from the changes.
The domestic abuse commissioner, Dame Nicole Jacobs, said the decision to exclude those who have abused their partners was “wrong” and “puts victims’ lives at risk”.
You can in this story by my colleagues and :
