Andy Burnham issues new update on PC Harper case as he vows more action on foreign criminals
Andy Burnham has issued an update on the case of the killers of PC Andrew Harper as he vowed harsher action on foreign criminals in British prisons.
It comes amid increasing pressure from the family of PC Harper and the police not to allow Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, who were sentenced to 13 years for manslaughter, to be freed in January under existing plans.
The Prime Minister said: "I have asked the Justice Secretary to fast-track the development of a plan for presentation to Parliament early next month to create more headroom within the prison system.
"It will be based on a range of options including the three strands of further work I asked him to initiate last week.
"[We are] increasing the rate of removal of foreign national offenders from the prison estate to their country of origin; finding an early resolution to the long-running injustice of IPP sentences, which could allow for the release of lower-risk prisoners; and making greater use of the entire prison estate including using the female estate for male offenders.
"I am increasingly confident that a more focused approach along these lines will allow us to reduce the number of people released early and, in the case of the most serious offenders like those convicted of the killing of PC Harper, prevent their early release altogether."
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Major interest rate change for millions under Andy Burnham - what you need to know
A major change to interest rates impacting millions of Britons will come into effect under Prime Minister Andy Burnham in the near future
Yesterday, the Department for Education confirmed a six per cent ceiling on interest rates for Plan 2 and Plan 3 student loans will come into force on September 1.
The Student Loans Company (SLC) revealed the updated rates and repayment thresholds for the 2026-27 academic year on Monday, with the changes remaining in effect until August 31, 2027.
In a statement, SLC said: "The applicable Retail Price Index (RPI rate) is 4.1 per cent for the period September 1, 2026 to August 31, 2027,"
Keiran Mullan slams Labour as 'not good enough' over early prisoner release scheme
A senior Conservative has slammed news that Cabinet ministers will tell MPs what Labour’s plans are for how it will exempt PC Andrew Harper’s killers from its early release scheme, along with other serious criminals when Parliament returns in September.
Shadow Justice Minister Kieran Mullan told GB News: "They've had months and months and months to figure out how they want to do this. To tell us that we're going to get, you know, many more weeks of uncertainty.
"I'm sure, as I said, not just to Lissie and PC Harper's mother want to know now what's going to happen.
"Other people who might be similarly affected want to know now what this government's going to do? It's simply not good enough."
Reform UK civil war erupts as senior party figure SLAMS Zia Yusuf over 'traitor' comments
A war of words has erupted in Reform UK after Zia Yusuf was criticised for branding a former Conservative defence secretary and veteran as a "traitor."
Ben Wallace, who served as defence secretary from 2019 to 2023, questioned the practicality of Reform's plan to fix the shortage of prison spaces by sending foreign criminals abroad.
In response, Mr Yusuf, the party's home affairs spokesman, said: "Our policy today is in direct response to your government’s failures. If their home countries won’t take back, their citizens that are languishing in our jails, we are renting spaces in countries like El Salvador to put them.
"They may well include some of the thousands of Afghans you imported, including those who had not been vetted properly and including Taliban fighters. That’s why I call you a traitor to Britain. You fit the dictionary definition."
Political commentator and Reform UK member Tim Montgomerie said Mr Yusuf’s language "isn’t acceptable"
He added: "I don’t agree with Ben Wallace on this issue but Zia’s language and attitude towards any opponent is inappropriate and counter-productive.
"Opponents are opponents... they aren’t enemies... or 'morons'. One of the biggest question marks over Nigel Farage’s leadership is whether he brings Zia under control.
"ZY is a man of huge talents but too much of his social media output is intemperate and reinforces Reform’s number one problem: our negative tactical voting challenge."
Labour to announce early release exemptions for PC Harper’s killers in September
Labour has said it will set out how it will exempt Pc Andrew Harper’s killers from its early release scheme, along with other serious criminals when Parliament returns in September.
Communities Secretary Angela Rayner said Justice Secretary Alex Norris will tell MPs what Labour’s plans are, when the Commons returns after its summer break.
Speaking to LBC, Ms Rayner said: “The Prime Minister is really clear, the Justice Secretary will come to Parliament in September to lay out our plans on how we keep the most serious criminals in jail."
When asked if that would include killers of police officers, Ms Rayner replied: “Yes.”
Cabinet Office minister says small boats crisis is 'abhorrent'
A Cabinet Office minister said the public could be "confident" that Labour are tackling the small boats crisis.
Sally Jameson told GB News: "It's absolutely abhorrent what the criminal gangs are doing, especially when we see children are being put on those boats as well.
"We've made huge improvements in this area. Already. 46,000 crossings were stopped as a result of our deal with the French. In July. We had the lowest number of crossings we've had for the last six years, and deportations were huge.
"We had 70,000 people with no right to be here, have been deported since we came into office, so a huge amount of work has been done.
"But of course, there is a lot more to do, and I know that the Home Secretary and the Home Office team are working flat out to make sure that we're tackling the root cause of this and the gangs that are behind it, and making sure as well that we see real progress month on month, which we have been doing.
"So a lot has been done. There is more to do, but I think people can have confidence that we are getting on top of this."
Angela Rayner says Andy Burnham understands 'rage and anger' over potential early release of PC Harper killers
Angela Rayner said the Prime Minister understands the "rage and the anger" felt about the potential early release of the killers of PC Andrew Harper.
Ms Rayner, the Communities Secretary, told the BBC: "He understands the rage and the anger and he’s not accepting that we can’t do anything to prevent that, and he’s been really clear that he wants the Justice Secretary to look at that again."
She said potential options to stop prisons reaching capacity could be speeding up the deportation of foreign criminals, reviewing indeterminate sentences, and looking at women prisoner jail terms.
Ms Rayner added: "I’ve given you some examples of where the Government is looking at, to ensure that we don’t end up in a situation where we cannot arrest people who have committed appalling crimes, because we don’t have the capacity in our prisons.
"[But] also that we’re not allowing people who have done these horrendous crimes to people who are serving the British public, who deserve to see these perpetrators behind bars and to pay for what they’ve done."
Kemi Badenoch says Andy Burnham MUST rule out tax rises at first budget
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has urged Andy Burnham to rule out tax rises when Chancellor John Healey presents his first budget in the autumn.
Writing in the Daily Express, Mrs Badenoch said that any tax increases would potentially damage economic growth and add to the cost-of-living crisis.
She also said the Prime Minister needed to prioritise reducing the amount spent on welfare.
Mrs Badenoch said: "If Andy Burnham wants to ease the cost of living, he must not raise taxes.
"A bit of money off bus fares and bills might sound nice, but the real reason life is too hard for too many right now is because taxes are too high, and the weekly shop is too expensive.
"The tax burden is the highest it’s ever been. Conservative governments must share some of the blame for this, but they had the Covid furlough scheme to pay for.
"Labour came into power promising lower taxes. Yet, from the ‘Jobs Tax’ national insurance hike, to the family farms and family business taxes, they have squeezed firms dry, forcing up prices and the costs of hiring staff. As a result, jobs and growth have disappeared."
RECAP: Andy Burnham orders Justice Secretary to draw up plans to block early release of PC Harper's killers
Andy Burnham has ordered his Justice Secretary Alex Norris to draw up plans to prevent the early release of PC Andrew Harper's killers.
The Prime Minister, despite admitting defeat over the matter earlier today, is said to be "increasingly confident" that a "solution" can be worked out.
Downing Street admitted it was "not possible" to exempt "one or two offenders" convicted of manslaughter from the early release scheme earlier today.
No10 insisted Prime Minister Andy Burnham is "far from accepting the situation" but seemingly moved away from the prospect of an imminent carve-out to keep Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers behind bars.
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