Burnham to review early prisoner release scheme amid anger over potential freeing of PC Harper’s killers – UK politics live

Key events

Andy Burnham has said he will review the government’s controversial prisoner early release scheme with the justice secretary.

The scheme, under which thousands of prisoners are to serve shorter sentences after new laws were passed to address a prison overcrowding crisis, is due to begin in September.

Speaking in Bath on Wednesday, the prime minister said: “I’ve spoken to the new justice secretary. We will review the policy together and make further statements in due course.”

Asked about the early release of prisoners, which has again captured headlines amid concerns from the family of police officer Andrew Harper, who died after being dragged behind a car while trying to stop thieves stealing a quad bike. His mother said it felt like an “insult” that two of her son’s killers could be eligible for early release from prison.

Speaking in Bath, Burnham said he felt for the family.

“Nobody can deny the pressure on prison places,” he said.

“We did not invest in the prison estate when we should as a country, going back a decade or so ago, when it was clear that there was going to be pressure. That has created an unacceptable situation now.”

Read the full report here:

During the launch of his £2 bus far cap in Bath today, Andy Burnham was joined by TikTok star ‘Bus Aunty’, a mental health nurse whose videos showing appreciation for London’s red doubledeckers have gone viral online.

Bemi Orojuogun appears beside Burnham in a video posted on X. “Oh prime minister, you’re stealing my job!” she laughs.

Orojuogun’s videos of herself smiling alongside passing buses have garnered millions of views online. “My love for London red buses started a long time ago, when I first came to this country in the early 90s,” Orojuogun, who is from Nigeria, told my colleague Emine Sinmaz.

“There are four parts of London that I really, really love: red buses, red telephone booths, all the London bridges and Big Ben. But buses are main my love.”

You can read more about her TikTok stardom here:

The expected appointment of Anas Sarwar as a UK minister will “exacerbate” mistrust in politics, Scotland’s first minister has said.

Prime minister Andy Burnham has admitted politicians have “not been good enough” in recent years as he seeks to improve public trust in the country’s leaders.

But responding to the expected appointment of the Scottish Labour leader to the House of Lords and a minister in the expanded Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, John Swinney said the move goes against the prime minister’s goal.

Speaking to the Press Association on Wednesday, the first minister hit out at the “hypocrisy” of the situation, with Sarwar having previously ruled out a move to the Lords.

“I think what it demonstrates is an appalling level of judgement by Anas Sarwar,” he said. “He said before the [Holyrood] election he had absolutely no interest in going to the House of Lords, he only wanted to be first minister of Scotland.

“Then, after the election, Anas Sarwar has accepted a place in the House of Lords – a body, by the way, he wants to abolish.

“That is an incredible level of hypocrisy and it just illustrates what I think the prime minister is trying to address, which is the fact that politicians say one thing one minute and then do another thing the next minute, when it suits them.

“That, I thought, was what Andy Burnham was trying to address and to solve. But instead, Andy Burnham has exacerbated that sentiment within our society.”

Bond, an NGO representing the international development sector has criticised Andy Burnham’s bus fare cap.

“It is disappointing that the new prime minister is picking up where the previous one left off, by continuing to raid the diminished UK aid budget to prop up much-needed funding for the cost of living crisis here in the UK”, a spokesperson for Bond said.

“Climate finance must not worsen the debt burden of countries that are already suffering the worst impacts of a climate crisis they did not cause.

“This decision may also constitute a further cut to the UK aid budget, which has already been gutted by the Labour government, and sets a worrying tone for this new cabinet’s approach”.

Burnham says £2 bus fare cap originally his idea

Andy Burnham has insisted the £2 single bus fare cap in England was his idea, after he was asked by reporters about “bringing back Boris Johnson’s policy”.

Johnson’s Conservative government announced the policy in 2022 and introduced the £2 cap in January the following year (after the former prime minister stepped down). The cap was increased to £3 by Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves in 2024, although some areas – including London and Greater Manchester, where Burnham set a £2 limit as mayor – have lower top rates for single tickets.

Andy Burnham speaks to reporters in Bath. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

“It was actually my policy originally as mayor of Greater Manchester, but I worked with Boris to take it national, and it was hugely popular because it’s simple but it saves people money every day,” the prime minister told reporters during a visit in Bath.

“So I think it will really help people with the cost-of-living pressures they’re facing.

“It’s there for the whole of 2027, and I think it will put money in people’s pockets.”

Israel's conduct has 'fallen short' of standards UK sets for allies, says Streeting

Defence secretary Wes Streeting said that Israel has “fallen short” of British standards in its intense bombing of Gaza and its military operations in the West Bank in a briefing to journalists at the Farnborough airshow.

The newly appointed minister said that he stood by comments he had previously made in a July 2025 WhatsApp exchange with Peter Mandelson that “Israel is committing war crimes before our eyes”.

A view of destruction in Jabalia, Gaza, pictured in January 2025. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

“I’m not going to pretend I didn’t make those comments,” Streeting said, although he noted that any decisions on future arms exports to Israel would be part of a “clear framework” across the UK government.

Streeting, in his second day in the job, then went on to offer a degree of criticism of Israel and its military campaign that was notable for a British defence minister:

I believe very strongly in Israel’s right to defend itself, to defend its values, its freedom, and its democracy, just as we do every single day.

But I also hold Israel, as a friend and ally, to the same standard that we hold ourselves to. That is the standard that should be applied to Israel. That is the standard that I think I feel they’ve fallen short of.

We’ve got a responsibility as a country to make sure that we’re good friends. We’re good friends who are also critical friends when necessary.”

Could PC Andrew Harper's killers be freed under early prisoner release scheme?

Andy Burnham said he will review the early prisoner release scheme before it comes into effect in September, meaning the killers of PC Andrew Harper, who may have been eligible for early release under the scheme, may no longer qualify.

Harper was dragged to his death in August 2019 after becoming tangled in a crane strap attached to the back of a getaway car. The 28-year-old Thames Valley police officer had been called out after reports that teenagers were trying to steal a quad bike.

Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, who were passengers in the car and both 17 years old at the time, were handed 13 years in custody for manslaughter after a trial at the Old Bailey in 2020.

Both might be eligible for release from prison halfway through their sentences, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed. Harper’s mother, Debbie Adlam, told The Telegraph that their potential early release “feels like a slap in the face and an insult”.

Henry Long, Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers. Photograph: Thames Valley Police/PA

Under the new Sentencing Act, set to come into force in September, about 6,000 people are set to be released under the early prison release scheme.

The driver of the vehicle which caused Harper’s death, Henry Long, received a 16-year sentence, and will not be eligible for the scheme.

This was confirmed by Burnham as he spoke to reporters during a visit in Bath today.

He said: “I feel for the family it’s an appalling crime that was committed.

“The main perpetrator [Long] will not be subject to any early release. Of course, others involved have potentially been identified.”

He also said it was not acceptable for two of his ministers, Wes Streeting and Shabana Mahmood, to joke about the early release scheme, after they were caught on camera doing so yesterday. They have both apologised and said the early release scheme was a “serious issue”. Read more on that story here:

Green party calls for free bus travel for young people

The Green party has called for free bus travel for people aged under 22 as it reacted to the government’s £2 bus fare cap policy announced this morning.

In a statement, a Green party spokesperson said:

On buses we’ve now gone full circle – we are heading back to the £2 cap introduced by the Conservatives and raised to £3 under Keir Starmer.

Temporary cuts to bus fares are welcome but we need a new direction of travel. We need to permanently offer free travel to all those under 22. And we need to see extensive investment in routes and an increase in services so that taking the bus is a realistic option for many more communities across England. Lower fares are no use if buses aren’t there in the first place.”

Burnham: 'We will honour Nato funding commitments'

Andy Burnham said he would honour the UK’s commitments to Nato, including the agreement to allocate 3.5% of GDP to defence spending.

When asked whether John Healey, the new chancellor, has his “blessing” to hike defence spending, the prime minister said:

I was very proud to appoint John Healey as chancellor, somebody of really deep experience who will bring all of that to this new role, including his experience of defence.

We want to send a very clear message as prime minister and chancellor to our international colleagues that we will honour the commitments we’ve made as part of Nato to defence.

And I mentioned the same in Downing Street on Monday as I was appointed.

So, you know, this is about Britain regaining its reputation for stability, for delivering on what we say we will do.

And John Healey is obviously extremely well placed to do that.”

'No commitment made' to raise income tax personal allowance, says Burnham

The prime minister said he has made “no commitment” to change the income tax personal allowance but that he will “look at that at the budget”.

When asked by reporters whether he was planning to increase the tax-free personal allowance from £12,570, Andy Burnham said:

I want to answer questions honestly in this job, as I said before. I think that’s all about trust in politics and doing politics differently, and I’m determined to keep working in that way. It was raised a lot, but I then went on to say, ‘But we’ll have to look at it at the budget alongside everything else’. So no commitment, no unfunded promise.

There is no commitment at this point to change, but we will look at that at the budget.”

Early prisoner release scheme will be reviewed, says Burnham

We have more from Bath where the prime minister has been speaking to reporters.

Andy Burnham has indicated that he would review the early prisoner release policy before it goes ahead.

Hundreds of offenders will start being released early under the new Sentencing Act from September. Unlike the emergency measures in the early months of the Labour government, in which tens of thousands of prisoners were released as prisons ran out of space, the new sentencing law includes no exemptions for prisoners convicted of serious crimes, domestic abuse or terrorism.

PA has reported more of Burnham’s remarks:

All I can say is I will review the whole of this policy.

Nobody can deny the pressure on prison places.

We did not invest in the prison estate when we should as a country, going back a decade or so ago, when it was clear that there was going to be pressure.

That has created an unacceptable situation now.

But I want to assure myself that everything has been looked at before this policy proceeds, and I can give that assurance that every single part of this I will look into with the justice secretary.

I can’t say that I can change the policy completely, but I will look at it in detail before we go further forward.”