Two days is a very long time in British politics. On Saturday it was being reported that Andy Burnham might block the early release of two men who killed policeman Andrew Harper. No doubt the PM was motivated in part by a petition making that demand, which now has almost 900,000 signatures. On Monday we learned that Downing Street was briefing that it ‘cannot stop’ their early releases, claiming it is ‘not possible’ to exempt just these two men from the scheme. By Tuesday morning the story had changed again – now we were being told that the PM has asked the Justice Secretary to find a way, with Angela Rayner saying that plans will be announced in September to block early releases for those who killed police officers.
This deserves a cautious welcome, although if the government creates a different, harsher category of sentence for those who kill agents of the state, it doesn’t seem they will making our justice system fairer or more equal. It is worth remembering that parliament can do whatever it wants. In 2020 emergency legislation was introduced preventing the early release of prisoners convicted of terrorism offences. It took just a fortnight to be enacted as law, and came into effect immediately. Parliament can also legislate as quickly as it wishes. Indeed, last year this very parliament was recalled in order to pass the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill. During 12th April the bill passed through every necessary stage, receiving Royal Assent at 6 p.m. So the Prime Minister, with his huge majority, absolutely can pass legislation to prevent the release of these men. He could also do other things such as legislate to ignore planning constraints and ensure we actually build the prisons we need.
