Ministers continue to defend the release of PC Andrew Harper’s killers as part of the government’s early prisoner release scheme, despite a potential legal challenge from the Police Federation.
Justice minister Jake Richards acknowledged the “unimaginable pain” of the deceased officer’s family but said “difficult decisions” must be made because law and order could “collapse” without a functioning prison system.
About 1,000 fewer prisoners will be released early after Andy Burnham’s intervention to exclude those convicted of rape, serious child sexual offences and grooming from the scheme.
Asked to respond to Police Federation chief Aileen O’Connor’s threat of legal action, he told Sky News:
double quotation markWell, look, we understand that people are angry. The Harper family are, of course, angry. The police are angry too.
We’re angry that we’re in this situation where we face the unenviable position of having to make sure that we have a sustainable prison system, which is so vital to a functioning law and order system in our country, but also that we do right by victims as far as possible.
And the prime minister has looked again at the scheme. He said he wants to do more than he has been able to do, and that we wanted to take further action to try and ease the unimaginable pain that the Harper family are feeling every day, but we also have to balance that by ensuring that we have a functioning prison system.
double quotation markBecause without a functioning prison system, it means it’s difficult for police to make arrests, it’s difficult for our courts to try cases, and it could mean to the collapse of law and order in this country.
We cannot be in that situation, so that is the challenge that we face as government ministers and the prime minister faces ultimately.
Richards’ defence of the policy came as a Police Federation chief told Times Radio she feels “sick to her stomach” over the possible early release of PC Harper’s killers.
Aileen O’Connor, chairwoman of Thames Valley Police Federation, previously wrote in The Sun newspaper that the organisation “will throw everything at this through a proper legal challenge from KCs, barristers, you name it.”
double quotation markI feel sick to my stomach, if I’m really honest with you. I’ve had a gut wrenching feeling in my stomach the past couple of weeks with this, and it doesn’t go away.
And arguably, I would say that many of my members across Thames Valley also have this gut wrenching feeling, even at the prospect of these two killers being released in the space of weeks, potentially.
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