Overview
- On Tuesday the prime minister paused implementation of the Sentencing Act changes and instructed Justice Secretary Alex Norris to draw up plans to minimise early release and report to Parliament in two weeks.
- Two men convicted over PC Andrew Harper’s death, Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, currently remain eligible to be freed early under the revised release rules.
- Ministers are examining a legal carve‑out that would bar prisoners convicted of unlawful‑act manslaughter from the scheme, a move that Lord Thomas said could be practicable but warned may be hard to apply and unlawful if aimed at named individuals.
- The Ministry of Justice says it is fast‑tracking measures to keep more serious offenders behind bars and is using measures such as more tagging, faster deportations and new prison places, though critics say those fixes are medium‑ to long‑term.
- Senior police chiefs, PC Harper’s family and a petition of more than one million signatures have pressed the government for changes because they say the current rules damage public confidence and officer morale.