Burnham Targets 2,000 IPP Prisoners to Keep PC Harper's Killers Jailed
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 11
Burnham Targets 2,000 IPP Prisoners to Keep PC Harper's Killers Jailed
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 11
Summary
More than 2,000 prisoners serving IPP sentences are being singled out by Andy Burnham as a key source of prison capacity to stop PC Andrew Harper’s killers benefiting from early release.
Burnham said he has pushed the system "every single day" to go further on freeing space, aiming to revise the release scheme so Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers remain in prison.
The move builds on earlier government work on faster deportations, repurposing some female prison space for male offenders, and other emergency capacity measures under pressure from Harper’s family and public anger.
Burnham said the government would keep Lissie Harper closely informed as it develops the plan, while the renewed focus on IPP prisoners reopens scrutiny of a sentencing regime widely condemned as a justice-system scandal.