Andy Burnham live: Early prisoner release scheme paused after outrage over PC Harper’s killers

Andy Burnham has paused the early release scheme following backlash over the policy .

The prime minister said: “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.”

One way of reading a string of unfunded promises is that the prime minister wants to go to the country before the bills have to be paid, says John Rentoul

Angela Rayner has said she will not repay a £16,876 ministerial severance payment after being reappointed as housing secretary.

The Labour MP resigned as deputy prime minister and housing secretary in September 2025 after not paying enough tax on her £800,000 flat in Hove. This resulted in an exit payout.

Now that she is back in the cabinet, Conservatives have asked her to return the money.

But asked whether she would return the money, she said she wouldn’t .

She told Matt Chorley on BBC Radio 5 Live: “No, my severance payment was given to me at the time, I had worked in government for a period of time and then I came out of government for just under a year.”

She added: “I will be delivering in government again.”

Ministers have been urged to free non-violent women from prisons instead of dangerous criminals, after it was revealed two of police officer Andrew Harper’s killers could be eligible for early release.

Conservative former solicitor general Lord Garnier said: “There are 3,650 women in prison in England and Wales, and about 2,500 of those people – that’s to say, 70 per cent of the women’s prison population – are in custody for non-violent offences.

“If the Government thinks it’s better to release violent criminals, child sex offenders, rather than that non-violent cohort of women in prison, and fails to take the opportunity to free up prison places there, by re-rolling those a woman’s prison into a prison for men, what the hell do they think they’re doing?”

Under the new Sentencing Act, set to come into force in September, some 6,000 criminals were set to be released under the scheme.

The government’s early release scheme was meant to tackle prison overcrowding.

The government had predicted the incarcerated population could increase to between 98,000 and 103,600 by March 2030, with a central estimate of 100,600.

Sentencing Act menat some prisoners will now serve 40 per cent of their sentence in prison rather than 50 per cent.

Now Andy Burnham has paused the scheme.

The prime minister said: “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.”

News that PC Harper’s killers could be released halfway through their sentences sparked fury.

Before Andy Burnham made his announcement that he would “pause” the plan to release prisoners early Andrew Harper’s mother, Debbie Adlam, told The Telegraph that she had received a letter from the Ministry of Justice informing her that his killers may have their sentence reduced.

She said that their potential early release was an “insult beyond anything able to be put into words”.

“It makes me feel sick. Andrew’s life doesn’t get to come back. It feels like a slap in the face and an insult,” she said.

Gary Lineker has joined more than 100 British-based millionaires in calling on Andy Burnham to tax their wealth more, telling the new prime minister: “We can afford it.”

The group, organised by Patriotic Millionaires UK, includes screenwriter Richard Curtis, novelist Val McDermid and ex-City trader Gary Stevenson. Their letter states: “We want you to tax us. We can afford it. We’re not talking about higher taxes on those who get up and go to work for their income every day, but on the very richest whose income is derived from the wealth they hold.”

But Conservative shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride accused the government of dodging basic questions on how its spending pledges – including a bus fare cap and an £850m energy bill tax cut – will actually be funded, warning: “You cannot be a government that goes out there and makes lots of spending commitments without being able to explain exactly how those commitments are going to be funded.”

So – should Burnham tax the super-rich more, or is it a step too far? Vote in our poll…

Before Andy Burnham made his announcement that he would “pause” the plan to release prisoners early, the widow of police officer Andrew Harper said it was “deplorable” that two of his killers are being considered for early release.

PC Harper’s killers reportedly could have been released from prison early under Labour’s new plans to tackle prison overcrowding.

Henry Long, 19, was sentenced to 16 years while 18-year-olds Cole and Bowers were handed 13 years in custody over the manslaughter of the Thames Valley Police traffic officer.

Lissie Harper – whose 28-year-old husband died after getting caught in a strap attached to the back of a car as three teenage suspects fled the scene of a burglary in 2019 – accused politicians of “making decisions from behind a desk that will have real and lasting consequences” for the families of victims.

Andy Burnham’s first week as Britain’s new prime minister has begun with a flurry of policy pledges, predominantly aimed at lowering everyday living costs for households.

Speaking to his newly assembled cabinet for the first time on Tuesday, he told them this will be a “cost of living government”, which was followed by several announcements aimed at easing the financial burden on people across the country.

In his inaugural speech after becoming prime minister on Monday, Mr Burnham laid out a bold vision to undo economic policies brought in by the Thatcher administration in the 1980s and bring forward “the biggest changes in the last 40 years”.

Andy Burnham has paused the early release scheme following backlash over the policy .

The prime minister said: “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.”

This is a breaking news story. More to follow…