Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has accused Andy Burnham of failing to keep the British public safe, after it emerged that two of the men who killed PC Andrew Harper are set to be released early.
Speaking about the case, Farage said: “We’re learning a lot about Andy Burnham already, as he goes off on holiday just two weeks into the job.”
PC Andrew Harper was dragged to his death behind a vehicle while responding to a burglary in 2019. Three men were convicted of manslaughter over his death. An 18-year-old was sentenced to 16 years in prison, while two 17-year-olds - who are now set to be freed early - were both sentenced to 13 years.
Lissie Harper, PC Harper’s widow, said in a statement last night that the decision to free her husband’s killers was “disgusting” and that she was “beyond appalled and bristling with anger to hear that Andrew’s killers are soon to be free to roam the streets”.
She added: “The level of disrespect the government are showing to Andrew and other victims - and to their loved ones such as me - is beyond contempt.”
Farage said that “the widow of PC Harper - that poor policeman who was brutally killed - said Burnham had told her it would be awful if his killers were released early. He said it because that’s what the public wanted to hear.”
Burnham initially said he would review the planned early release of PC Harper’s killers following public outcry.
“But today, we learn that the killers of PC Harper will be released early. So we’re learning about Burnham: he tells people what he thinks they want to hear, but he will not actually deliver.”
Reform UK’s Shadow Chancellor, Robert Jenrick, reiterated the point - Burnham’s promise to prevent the early release of rapists and serious child sex offenders rings hollow if he refuses to rule out setting free “killers, including of police officers”.
As Farage wrote in a recent column for the Daily Express, the government knew that killers, rapists and paedophiles could be among the roughly 6,000 criminals eligible for release under its Sentencing Act, which comes into force in September.
Farage noted that Burnham had said he “can’t say that I can change the policy completely", despite the pain and fear it would inflict on victims and their families.
Farage responded to this: “Well, Prime Minister, I can say with certainty that a Reform UK government would scrap your policy completely - and we’ll make sure that dangerous criminals are kept locked up to keep the public safe.”
Reform UK would ensure that dangerous offenders serve their full sentences. Farage said: “One solution is to deport the 10,000 foreign prisoners. And the second is to build Nightingale prisons.”
A Reform government would leave the European Convention on Human Rights and repeal the Human Rights Act, making it easier to deport foreign criminals. It would also build low-cost, high-security prefabricated prisons on Ministry of Defence land within 18 months, while converting disused military barracks into jail space where appropriate.
This extra capacity would allow Reform UK to end the routine early release of violent criminals. “We built the [Nightingale] hospitals quickly during Covid; we can do the same for prisons”, Farage said. “It’s about time people understood that and knew the truth.”
If Burnham cannot scrap the early-release policy, Farage said, it will be “conclusive evidence that the British people are not safe in Labour’s hands”.
Speaking about the case, Farage said: “We’re learning a lot about Andy Burnham already, as he goes off on holiday just two weeks into the job.”
PC Andrew Harper was dragged to his death behind a vehicle while responding to a burglary in 2019. Three men were convicted of manslaughter over his death. An 18-year-old was sentenced to 16 years in prison, while two 17-year-olds - who are now set to be freed early - were both sentenced to 13 years.
Lissie Harper, PC Harper’s widow, said in a statement last night that the decision to free her husband’s killers was “disgusting” and that she was “beyond appalled and bristling with anger to hear that Andrew’s killers are soon to be free to roam the streets”.
She added: “The level of disrespect the government are showing to Andrew and other victims - and to their loved ones such as me - is beyond contempt.”
Farage said that “the widow of PC Harper - that poor policeman who was brutally killed - said Burnham had told her it would be awful if his killers were released early. He said it because that’s what the public wanted to hear.”
Burnham initially said he would review the planned early release of PC Harper’s killers following public outcry.
“But today, we learn that the killers of PC Harper will be released early. So we’re learning about Burnham: he tells people what he thinks they want to hear, but he will not actually deliver.”
Reform UK’s Shadow Chancellor, Robert Jenrick, reiterated the point - Burnham’s promise to prevent the early release of rapists and serious child sex offenders rings hollow if he refuses to rule out setting free “killers, including of police officers”.
As Farage wrote in a recent column for the Daily Express, the government knew that killers, rapists and paedophiles could be among the roughly 6,000 criminals eligible for release under its Sentencing Act, which comes into force in September.
Farage noted that Burnham had said he “can’t say that I can change the policy completely", despite the pain and fear it would inflict on victims and their families.
Farage responded to this: “Well, Prime Minister, I can say with certainty that a Reform UK government would scrap your policy completely - and we’ll make sure that dangerous criminals are kept locked up to keep the public safe.”
Reform UK would ensure that dangerous offenders serve their full sentences. Farage said: “One solution is to deport the 10,000 foreign prisoners. And the second is to build Nightingale prisons.”
A Reform government would leave the European Convention on Human Rights and repeal the Human Rights Act, making it easier to deport foreign criminals. It would also build low-cost, high-security prefabricated prisons on Ministry of Defence land within 18 months, while converting disused military barracks into jail space where appropriate.
This extra capacity would allow Reform UK to end the routine early release of violent criminals. “We built the [Nightingale] hospitals quickly during Covid; we can do the same for prisons”, Farage said. “It’s about time people understood that and knew the truth.”
If Burnham cannot scrap the early-release policy, Farage said, it will be “conclusive evidence that the British people are not safe in Labour’s hands”.
