A Labour minister has been handed a fiery GB News grilling after claiming the reforms to the early release scheme are “as far as they can go”.
Speaking to the People’s Channel, Justice Secretary Alex Norris argued that although the decision by the Prime Minister is “disappointing and upsetting to victims and their families”, it is the “best we could manage at this time”.
After an initial pause on the early release of criminals from September, Mr Burnham has confirmed that grooming gang rapists will not be let out before the end of their sentence.
However, the killers of PC Harper, among others, are still scheduled for their early release.
Having delivered the news to PC Andrew Harper’s mother personally, Mr Norris told GB News that her disappointment in the decision by the Government “was clear”.
He said: “It’s suffice to say that she was very clear about her disappointment with the decision that has been taken and her anger and her sense of feeling let down, but we have to remember why we are where we are.
“We have heard the concerns about some of the people possibly involved in this, so we’ve paused it and we’ve looked again. We have been able to remove rapists and child sex abusers from the scope of that release from prison.
“However, we would like to have gone further, but we can’t. This is as far as we can go and still have prison places. And I know that’s very disappointing and upsetting to victims and their families, but it’s the best we could manage at this time.”
The Justice Secretary assured that the Government is building “14,000 prison places”, to ensure that we “don’t run out of prison places by October”.
He explained: “When we came to Government, we were in a situation where we were days away from prison places running out. That means nobody getting arrested, that means people being bailed back home even after serious offences.
“We are building lots of prison places, 14,000 over the next few years, but we’ve made important changes through the Sentencing Act to make sure we don’t run out of prison places. Without these changes, we run out of prison places in October or November of this year.”
Challenging Mr Norris, host Ellie Costello argued that the “can is being kicked down the road” on the prisons crisis by successive Governments, and that the “safety of the British people has to come first”.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
- Andy Burnham accused of ‘rejecting justice’ over decision to release PC Harper’s killers early
- PC Harper’s widow accuses Andy Burnham of ‘betrayal’ as PM set to let her husband’s killers go free
- Andy Burnham facing ‘defining moment’ as Prime Minister with early release prison scheme decision
Asked by Ellie whether there is “something they can do” to prevent the “early release of killers” onto British streets, Mr Norris told GB News: “I’d want to assure viewers that we are doing those kind of things, whether it’s bunk beds in cells and making sure that prison space is used as effectively as possible.
“The previous Government built a net of 500 places in 14 years. It’s extraordinary, kind of asleep at the wheel on this, but the people are tired of that crisis and that cycle of emergency release, that is why we’re doing what we’re doing, building 14,000 more places.”
He continued: “The release scheme through the Sentencing Act is much stronger as a result, so that next year I’m not back having these conversations with you again to ensure our longer-term future.
“And then on top of that, the Prime Minister is asking me to go further on the use of the women’s estate, to go further on our removals of foreign offenders. I’m pleased that we’ve increased that rate by over a third on our predecessors, but we have to do much more in that space.
“But as I say, making these very difficult choices at this time gets us out of that role in crisis, and that’s why it’s the right thing to do.”
In a statement posted to social media, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has assured that the reforms to early release “will make a difference”.
He told Britons: “I do not pretend it is a perfect solution or that it goes as far as I would like. My commitment over the months and years ahead is to rebuild our justice system so that it commands the confidence of the public.
“This will not happen overnight and nor without difficulty, but we will deliver a justice system that the British people expect and deserve.”
Our Standards:
The GB News Editorial Charter
