Some 6,000 offenders were set to be let loose on Britain’s streets in September, including the two men involved in the 2019 attack, after serving a third of their sentence, rather than half, in a bid to ease prison overcrowding<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Sentencing Act was amended in January, with eligibility for early release based on the length of an offender’s fixed sentence, rather than the type of offence.<\/p>\n In a video uploaded to social media, the Reform UK leader claimed Britain is “learning a lot about Andy Burnham already”.<\/p>\n He said: “Burnham said it would be awful if PC Harper’s killers were released early. He said it because that’s what the public wanted to hear. But today we learn that yes, the killers of PC Harper will be released early.<\/p>\n “He tells people what he thinks they want to hear, but he will not actually deliver.”<\/p>\n Mr Farage also pointed to the Conservatives’ record, saying the party “failed us all.”<\/p>\n The Reform UK leader told his 2.3million followers on X that Reform UK would deport foreign criminals and build Nightingale prisons to solve the problem of overcrowding in British prisons.<\/p>\n Illegal migrants spotted running off into Essex countryside after sneaking into lorry from Spain<\/p>\n Four suspected illegal migrants have been spotted running off into the Essex countryside after hiding in a lorry which was understood to have travelled from Portugal.<\/p>\n Horrified onlookers recorded video footage appearing to show the quartet cut a hole through the soft top of the lorry.<\/p>\n The incident took place in a layby off the A414 near Maldon in Essex at around 3pm on August 3.<\/p>\n Officers from Essex Police descended on the layby shortly after a video of the incident went viral on social media.<\/p>\n READ THE FULL STORY HERE. <\/a><\/p>\n Migrant dinghy fire incident in English Channel proves Operation Fortress plan is legal, says Reform UK<\/p>\n Reform UK has said that today’s migrant dinghy fire incident in the English Channel proves that the party’s Operation Fortress plan is workable.<\/p>\n A spokesman for the party said: “This incident proves that Reform UK\u2019s Operation Fortress plan is workable and that British vessels are able to take Channel migrants back to France without violating maritime or international law as part of a humanitarian mission.<\/p>\n “It also confirms that these crossings on overcrowded, dangerous dinghies are a humanitarian disaster waiting to happen and must be stopped immediately.”<\/p>\n Labour being ‘dragged kicking and screaming’ into protecting women\u2019s-only spaces, says\u00a0Suella Braverman<\/p>\n Suella Braverman has denounced the Labour government for being ‘dragged kicking and screaming’ into protecting women\u2019s-only spaces<\/p>\n | <\/p>\n PA<\/p>\n Reform UK\u2019s Suella Braverman has criticised the delay in the EHRC\u2019s Code of Practice coming into force, denouncing the Labour government for being “dragged kicking and screaming” into protecting women\u2019s-only spaces.<\/p>\n Reform UK\u2019s Shadow Education & Equalities Secretary Mrs Braverman MP said: “It\u2019s unacceptable that this code is coming into force more than a year after the Supreme Court\u2019s unambiguous ruling that women are women and men are men. <\/p>\n “The government has been dragged kicking and screaming into adopting simple common sense and protecting women\u2019s-only spaces.<\/p>\n \u201cThe government and EHRC now have no excuse in not enforcing and upholding the law. <\/p>\n “That means getting tough with civil servants and public sector bodies who continue to buy into nonsensical woke definitions of gender and threaten the rights and privacy of British women and girls.”<\/p>\n Liberal Democrats demands Andy Burnham ‘step up’ after\u00a0‘insult’ to Andrew Harper’s\u00a0family<\/p>\n The Liberal Democrats demanded that Andy Burnham \u201cstep up\u201d and act to exempt two of Pc Andrew Harper\u2019s killers from early prison release, describing their eligibility as an \u201cinsult to the family and loved ones\u201d of the deceased officer.<\/p>\n The party\u2019s justice spokeswoman Jess Brown-Fuller said: “It is an insult to the family and loved ones of Andrew Harper that his killers are still eligible for early release after committing such a heinous crime.<\/p>\n “Ministers repeatedly assured Parliament that the most serious offenders would be exempt from these measures and it is clear that is simply not the case.<\/p>\n “The Prime Minister must step up and correct the mistakes made by his predecessors over this appalling case.<\/p>\n “The Liberal Democrats would bring forward emergency legislation to ensure that these cop killers are exempt from early release.”<\/p>\n Andy Burnham admits he ‘pushed early prison release to the limits’ as PM reveals three-point plan to ‘fix prison crisis once and for all’<\/p>\n Andy Burnham has admitted he “pushed the early prison release scheme to the limits” as the Prime Minister revealed a three-point plan to “fix the prison crisis once and for all”.<\/p>\n The Labour leader admitted that he had hoped he could “go even further” in the face of the ongoing crisis engulfing prisons across England and Wales.<\/p>\n He said: “I know there will be concerns about who will still be released early for other offences. I have pushed to the very limits of what is possible to do.<\/p>\n “I know I can look people in the eye and say to them there is nothing more I could have asked for without risking the prison system reaching capacity and collapsing within months.”<\/p>\n The Prime Minister said “such an outcome would expose the public to enormous risk”, inhibiting the police and courts, leaving Britain’s entire justice system to “grind to a halt”.<\/p>\n As a result, he announced a new package of support for victims who “must be placed at the heart of the justice system”.<\/p>\n “This will be backed by \u00a310 million in new funding to provide trauma-informed contacts for victims, alongside a new national helpline,” he added.<\/p>\n The Prime Minister also set out a three-point plan to overcome the ongoing prison crisis.<\/p>\n READ THE FULL STORY HERE<\/a><\/p>\n Kemi Badenoch refuses to\u00a0criticise Andy Burnham over holiday<\/p>\n Kemi Badenoch said she will not criticise the Prime Minister for taking a holiday just over two weeks into his premiership, while he was branded “part-time Burnham” by Reform UK.<\/p>\n Andy Burnham, who took office on July 20, will be taking a break from his day-to-day duties to spend time with his family.<\/p>\n He will remain in direct contact with officials and continue holding meetings during the overseas break, with allies insisting the Government will continue functioning normally during his absence from Downing Street.<\/p>\n Mr Burnham\u2019s holiday comes after his campaign to win the Makerfield by-election in June led to a rapid rise to replace Sir Keir Starmer in Downing Street.<\/p>\n Conservative leader Mrs Badenoch said “everybody should be taking a break” while children are off school.<\/p>\n She told reporters: “I\u2019m not going to criticise a politician for taking a holiday. I\u2019m not going to criticise Andy Burnham for that.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s children\u2019s school holidays, my children are on a holiday, I hope that everybody should be taking a break. What I will criticise Andy Burnham for is not coming to Parliament after becoming Prime Minister.<\/p>\n \u201cHe should have done that and allowed himself to face questions from MPs. That\u2019s what we\u2019re elected to do. We are the elected representatives of the people. Andy Burnham was running away from Parliament. He can\u2019t run away forever.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to be giving him a holiday when we come back in September.”<\/p>\n Kemi Badenoch suggests\u00a0rent prison spaces from abroad<\/p>\n Kemi Badenoch said her party would rent cells abroad<\/p>\n | <\/p>\n POOL<\/p>\n Kemi Badenoch said her party would rent cells abroad, build more prison places, and deport foreign offenders to ease overcrowding.<\/p>\n She told broadcasters: “We do need to solve the problem of prison overcrowding. <\/p>\n “We said we were going to build prisons in the Conservative manifesto, Covid derailed that programme.<\/p>\n “We still need to build prisons. We need to remove foreign criminals, and we should do what Conservatives had planned to do two years ago, which Labour stopped, which is rent prison spaces from other countries. Sweden does it. The UK can do it too.”<\/p>\n Asked how much that would cost, she said: \u201cYou cannot put a price on keeping the citizens of this country feeling safe and secure.”<\/p>\n Andy Burnham told to raid Britons for \u00a312billion more in taxes<\/p>\n Lord Kinnock has urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham to align capital gains tax with income tax rates ahead of Labour’s first Budget on October 28, arguing the move could raise an additional \u00a312billion a year.<\/p>\n The former Labour leader, whom Mr Burnham described as one of his key mentors last month, said increasing capital gains tax (CGT) would provide a significant boost to the public finances.<\/p>\n Speaking to The i Paper, Lord Kinnock said: “I’m sure that the Government understands the utility and the encouragement which the further \u00a312billion revenues that such a fair change in CGT would bring.”<\/p>\n The intervention comes as Chancellor John Healey is widely expected to announce tax increases in the Budget, with Mr Burnham previously acknowledging Labour would likely have to ask the public “for a little more”.<\/p>\n Nigel Farage vows to ‘save lives’ with plan to tackle small boat crisis<\/p>\n Nigel Farage has claimed Reform UK’s ‘Operation Fortress<\/a>‘ will “save lives” after a mega-dinghy carrying dozens of illegal migrants caught fire while making the illegal journey across the Channel.<\/p>\n A major air and sea rescue took place in the English Channel this morning after the dinghy sank, tipping almost 160 illegal immigrants into the sea.<\/p>\n Mr Farage said: “We must put a stop to this. Our plan will save lives.”<\/p>\n Yesterday, the party chief, alongside Zia Yusuf, outlined what their team dubbed “Operation Fortress<\/a>“.<\/p>\n READ THE FULL STORY HERE<\/a><\/p>\n ‘This is as far as we can go’, claims\u00a0Alex Norris as he defends Labour’s controversial\u00a0release scheme<\/p>\n Justice Secretary Alex Norris has said that the upcoming changes to prison sentences as part of a push to protect the public from dangerous criminals were “as far as we can go”.<\/p>\n Speaking to GB News following a phone call with PC Andrew Harper’s widow, he said: “It suffices to say that she was very clear about her disappointment with the decision that has been taken, her anger, and her sense of feeling let down.<\/p>\n “We have to remember why we’re where we are. When we came to government, we were in a situation where we were days away from prison places running out. <\/p>\n “That means nobody getting arrested. That means people being bailed back home even after serious offences. <\/p>\n “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. <\/p>\n “We run out of prison places in October or November of this year. Now we have a new justice secretary. Andy Burnham, as the new Prime Minister, has heard the concerns about some of the people possibly involved in this, so we have paused it, and we’ve looked again.<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n ‘It is astounding. It is disgraceful. It’s disgusting!’\u00a0Matt Vickers takes aim at ‘entirely unacceptable’\u00a0prisoner release scheme<\/p>\n Matt Vickers has criticised Labour’s early release scheme<\/p>\n | <\/p>\n GB NEWS<\/p>\n Matt Vickers has criticised Labour’s early release scheme while speaking to GB News, branding the plan “entirely unacceptable”.<\/p>\n Shadow Minister of State for Illegal Immigration, Crime, Policing and Fire told the People’s Channel that Labour had rejected justice.<\/p>\n He said: “For anybody who’s been a victim of some of the most heinous and awful crimes, like these individuals, to not see, you know, if you’ve lost a family member in these circumstances, and to see this Prime Minister making a decision that that person should still be released.<\/p>\n “It’s just entirely unacceptable… I remember Lissie Harper campaigned day and night, put herself forward to get justice for Andrew Harper. She’s got it. And this government is rejecting it. <\/p>\n “This Labour government have done terrible things. But to release these people early for those Labour MPs across the country who walk through those lobbies to support this, it is astounding. It is disgraceful. It’s disgusting.”<\/p>\n Kemi Badenoch slams Andy Burnham for ‘only partial climbdown’ in\u00a0prisoner release scheme<\/p>\n Kemi Badenoch has taken to social media to criticise Andy Burnham’s announcement on releasing prisoners early<\/p>\n | <\/p>\n PA<\/p>\n Kemi Badenoch has taken to social media to criticise Andy Burnham’s announcement on releasing prisoners early.<\/p>\n Writing on X, the Tory leader said: “Andy Burnham wants a round of applause for agreeing not to release rapists and child sex offenders. He’s not getting one. <\/p>\n “This is only a partial climbdown. Killers, violent offenders, men who have terrorised their partners and more will all still walk out of prison in October thanks to Labour\u2019s early release scheme. <\/p>\n “Yet again victims are learning their fate from press releases. <\/p>\n “Conservatives have a better plan. Build, rent, remove. Build more prisons. Rent prison spaces abroad. Remove foreign criminals. <\/p>\n “The victims of these horrific crimes have suffered weeks of uncertainty and fear. They deserve so much better.”<\/p>\n Thames Valley Police Chief Constable\u00a0‘beyond disappointed’ with\u00a0Andy Burnham’s decision to release\u00a0Pc Andrew Harper\u2019s killers<\/p>\n Thames Valley Police Chief Constable Jason Hogg has said he is “beyond disappointed” that Pc Andrew Harper\u2019s killers would be eligible for early release.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cI am beyond disappointed the Government is continuing to allow Pc Andrew Harper\u2019s killers to be released early from prison despite the overwhelming recent public outcry.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is simple: if Andrew\u2019s killers were convicted today, they would receive life sentences due to the law that was created in his name. They would not be eligible for early release.<\/p>\n \u201cThis decision is demoralising for all police officers and our fellow emergency service workers, not just in the Thames Valley, that put themselves in harm\u2019s way to protect and serve their community.<\/p>\n \u201cWe stand with Andrew\u2019s family, the Police Federation, our police and crime commissioner in our dismay and we will continue to lobby the Government to make the right decision.\u201d<\/p>\n PC Harper’s widow accuses Andy Burnham of ‘betrayal’ as PM set to let her husband’s killers go free<\/p>\n PC Andrew Harper’s widow has accused Andy Burnham of a “betrayal” after he failed to exclude her husband’s killers from his early release reforms.<\/p>\n In a statement late last night, she said: “This is disgusting. I am beyond appalled and bristling with anger to hear that Andrew\u2019s killers are soon to be free to roam the streets.<\/p>\n “What abhorrent message does this send? How dare ministers say the killing of a police officer is not enough of a \u2018sickening crime\u2019 that deserves the stiffest of punishments.<\/p>\n “The level of disrespect the Government are showing to Andrew and other victims \u2013 and to their loved ones such as me \u2013 is beyond contempt.<\/p>\n “The killers of Andrew have shown no remorse… they robbed us of our future. They are vile criminals, and they should remain in jail.<\/p>\n “To release them early from their already pitiful sentences is an affront to justice.<\/p>\n “The Government and the justice system have not just let me down… they have added insult to injury. They are meant to be on our side.<\/p>\n “This is an utter betrayal – and it’s one I will not be able to forgive or forget.”<\/p>\n![\"Suella](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/suella-braverman.jpg\")
![\"Kemi](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/kemi-badenoch.png\")
![\"\\u200bMatt](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/u200bmatt-vickers.png\")
![\"Kemi](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/kemi-badenoch.jpg\")
![\"Andy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1785877453_283_andy-burnham.jpg\")
Andy Burnham adopted new rules as part of changes to the Sentencing Act | GETTY<\/p>\n