Burnham vows to keep PC Harper killers jailed as super prison cells lie empty
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has asked for a plan to prevent early release of serious offenders, while a new £400m prison has hundreds of empty cells due to staff shortages.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has promised to do everything he can to keep the killers of PC Andrew Harper behind bars, and has asked his Justice Secretary to come up with a plan within three weeks to reduce the need for early releases. The move follows days of confusion over whether the two men, Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, would be released under a scheme inherited from the previous government.
The Prime Minister said he understood the anguish of PC Harper's family and the wider public concern. "I hope we can get to a position where people who have committed the serious crimes are not in the position where they are being released early and that would include the killers of PC Andrew Harper," he said. He acknowledged it would not be possible to prevent all offenders from being released early without putting the prison system under unsustainable pressure.
The announcement came as it emerged that a new £400m super prison near York has hundreds of empty cells because it cannot recruit enough staff. HMP Millside has space for 1,500 prisoners but 350 cells are unused. The prison service is also dealing with thousands of other empty spaces in older prisons, many of which need refurbishment or lack fire safety systems.
The Justice Secretary has been asked to present a plan to Parliament in early September. It is expected to include measures to return more foreign national offenders to their country of origin and to address the issue of IPP sentences, which have left many prisoners with indefinite terms.
The Conservatives accused the government of u-turning and re-traumatising families. PC Harper's mother said the past few weeks had been "gut-wrenching" and that nothing had been achieved yet.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | Channel 5 | BBC News | BBC One | BBC Two | Channel 4 | GB News | ITV | Sky News |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rapists will be banned from early prison release under a new scheme. | ||||||||
| Albert Bowers and Jesse Cole, convicted of manslaughter of PC Andrew Harper, were eligible for early release under the government's prison overcrowding scheme. | · | |||||||
| Prime Minister said the early prisoner release scheme could be reviewed after concerns from PC Harper's family. | · | · | ||||||
| PC Harper's mother called the potential early release an insult. | · | · | · | · | · | |||
| The Prime Minister ordered a pause to the early release scheme. | · | · | · | · | · | |||
| HMP Millside near York has 350 empty cells due to staffing shortages. | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| More than 6,100 prison spaces are empty across the estate, including 4,000 in Victorian prisons and 1,800 due to fire safety issues. | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| The early release scheme will see hundreds of inmates released early from September, including some convicted of serious sexual offences. | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| The government is about to release 470 early-release prisoners, including the killers of PC Andrew Harper. | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| The Prime Minister acknowledged it will not be possible to prevent all offenders from being released early without putting the prison system under unsustainable pressures. | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
ITV focused on the Prime Minister's personal commitment to exclude PC Harper's killers from early release, the emotional toll on the victim's family, and the political U-turn. It highlighted the family's ongoing anguish and the government's struggle to balance public concern with prison capacity.
- “I hope we can get to a position where people who have committed the serious crimes are not in the position where they are being released early and that would include the killers of PC Andrew Harper.”
- “The Chief of Staff called me to say that Andy Burnham is trying to do everything that he can and he is feeling more confident, basically, that something can be done.”
- “But the fight goes on. Nothing has been done. Nothing has been found yet.”
BBC TWO provided a detailed timeline of the government's shifting position, analysed the political communication strategy, and explored the legal and practical difficulties of excluding specific offenders. It balanced the Prime Minister's stated intentions with concerns about dithering and the risk of judicial review.
- “I've heard the depth of concern felt across the country about the potential release of the killers of PC Andrew Harper and obviously I feel for the family and the anguish that they're going through.”
- “Today, I have asked the Justice Secretary to present a plan in early September to Parliament to go further so that we do not have to release as many people early.”
- “That plan will include issues like returning more foreign national offenders to their country of origin and looking at the injustice of IPP sentences which have led to young people or young when they were imprisoned being imprisoned indeterminately and that clearly is unfair.”
GB News focused on the empty cells at HMP Millside and the wider prison staffing crisis, arguing that the government should fill these spaces instead of releasing prisoners early. The panel blamed previous governments for underfunding and criticised the current administration for failing to act decisively.
- “Britain's newest so-called super-prison, costing £400 million, has hundreds of empty cells because it cannot recruit enough staff.”
- “HMP Millside, near York, has space for 1,500 prisoners, but still has, somehow, 350 cells left empty.”
- “Add all that together, it's over 6,100 empty spaces when the government is about to release just 470 early-release prisons, including the killers of PC Andrew Harper.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.