Labour’s sheepish Justice Secretary says ‘sorry’ to PC Harper’s family after Andy Burnham leaves them ‘devastated’ by STILL allowing his killers to be freed early
The Justice Secretary has apologised to the family of murdered police officer Andrew Harper after his killers were still allowed to be released early despite an outcry from his relatives. PC Harper died in 2019 after being dragged along a road by a car while attempting to stop suspected quad bike thieves, and the case has remained a flashpoint over sentencing and early-release policy under the current Labour government.
The apology comes after the Harper family said they had been left "devastated" that the killers' early release was permitted to go ahead. The article notes the political context of ongoing tension within Labour's justice and policing approach, though full details of the decision-making process were not provided in the available report.
- Justice Secretary apologises to PC Andrew Harper's family
- Harper's killers still freed early despite objections
- Family describe themselves as "devastated" by the decision
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Supporters of the government's approach argue that Britain's prisons are operating perilously close to capacity, and that without an early release mechanism the system risks a genuine operational collapse, with courts unable to sentence, prisoners doubled up in unsafe conditions, and staff unable to maintain order. They contend that ministers inherited this capacity crisis rather than created it, and that responsible governance sometimes means making unpopular but necessary decisions to keep the justice system functioning at all, even when that causes real pain to individual victims' families. On this view, the alternative – simply refusing to release anyone – would not make the underlying problem disappear but would instead produce a more dangerous and chaotic system for everyone, including future victims.
The case against
Critics, including PC Andrew Harper's family, argue that early release schemes betray the basic promise of the justice system: that a sentence handed down by a court should be served in full, particularly for those convicted of killing a police officer. They contend that successive governments' failure to build sufficient prison capacity is not a legitimate excuse for shortening sentences after the fact, since it effectively punishes victims' families a second time for administrative and political failures not of their making. For this side, public trust in sentencing depends on consistency and honesty about what a sentence actually means, and an apology from a minister rings hollow if the policy causing the harm remains unchanged.