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Tony Diver and Charles Hymas |
The Telegraph revealed last month that Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, who were jailed for 13 years in 2020 for the manslaughter of Pc Andrew Harper, 28, were eligible to be released after serving six and a half years in prison.
The story prompted Andy Burnham to pause the release of 6,000 offenders and order an urgent review.
This review has now concluded, and the result is Bowers and Cole could now walk free by the end of the year.
Lissie Harper, the officer’s widow, said: “I am beyond appalled and bristling with anger to hear that Andrew’s killers are soon to be free to roam the streets.
“The level of disrespect the Government is showing to Andrew and other victims – and to their loved ones such as me – is beyond contempt.
“The killers of Andrew have shown no remorse... they robbed us of our future. They are vile criminals, and they should remain in jail. To release them early from their already pitiful sentences is an affront to justice.”
Pc Harper’s mother told The Telegraph she would not “take this lying down”, and warned of a backlash from the public at the decision.
There was also criticism from Jason Hogg, the Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police and Nick Timothy, the shadow justice secretary.
Writing in The Telegraph, Burnham said: “The truth is I wanted to go even further. 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. 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.”
Under the changes, criminals guilty of manslaughter will be eligible to be freed halfway through their sentences.
Rapists and serious child sexual offenders, including grooming-gang perpetrators, will no longer be released early following pressure from victims, MPs and front-line prison officers.
Burnham also revealed that he had asked Alex Norris, the Justice Secretary, to consider the early release of more women prisoners, “given the lower risk they generally pose”.
Read the full story here ➤
Andy Burnham | I will block rapists from early release – but I wanted to go further ➤
Plus, Burnham goes on holiday after two weeks in the job ➤ |
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Tony Diver Political Editor |
For more than a year, Restore Britain has been a thorn in the side of Reform UK.
The upstart new Right-wing party, founded by Rupert Lowe, the former Reform MP, has polled between 2 and 6 per cent in most reliable surveys, and threatens to split Nigel Farage’s vote.
However, after a series of tricky by-elections and a flop at May’s local elections, Lowe has a new strategy.
He has proposed a pact between the two parties – and Farage is listening.
The Telegraph understands Restore is offering to stand down some of its candidates in Reform marginals to help Farage over the line, in exchange for the same help elsewhere.
Six months ago, with Reform riding high at 30 per cent of the vote, such a pact would have been unthinkable.
But now, conscious of the “Burnham bounce” for Labour and the prospect that the Greens and Liberal Democrats will wane before the next election, he says he is “open-minded” to a reconciliation with his old foe.
That would be a long way short of a full plan to “unite the Right”, because it wouldn’t involve the Tories, but it could make both parties into a more potent political force.
Typically, the suggestion of talks would derail into a row, with both Farage and Lowe accusing the other of dirty tactics and leaks.
Farage told me the pair are now on speaking terms, and he will follow through on his promise of a summit. Watch this space. Continue reading ➤ |
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James Frayne Reform should enter into a coalition, but with the mainstream Right not the hard-Right Continue reading ➤
Suzanne Moore Boy George is discovering what it’s like to be cancelled by the thought police Continue reading ➤
Annabel Denham Jason Arday is merely a symptom of academia’s moral disease Continue reading ➤ |
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Moves to topple Gianni Infantino as Fifa president have begun in earnest, with the Football Association at the centre of forging new alliances that could cement his downfall. Yesterday, the FA was planning to write to Infantino formally revoking its endorsement of him, while also supporting efforts by Uefa to lobby all-important African and Asian federations to vote him out. Meanwhile, according to insiders, Donald Trump has promised to do “everything possible” to save Infantino from being toppled.
Continue reading ➤ |
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When Spain said on Saturday it had expelled “almost” all the migrants who had crossed the border between Morocco and Ceuta, it appeared to draw a line under the crisis. However, today as many as 5,000 remain on the beaches and the streets of the enclave. Moroccan authorities have refused to take them back – leaving many in limbo and vulnerable to people smugglers offering boats to mainland Europe. Continue reading ➤ |
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When the body of Jean Hanlon was found in a Cretan harbour, writes Steve Boggan, the Greek authorities dismissed her death as an accident – but the British woman had been murdered. For 17 years, her three sons fought for the killer to be tried. Last month, thanks to a charismatic private detective, a local man was at last found guilty of her murder… and then set free. Key figures from inside the case spoke to Steve to piece together the terrible events, which remain unresolved. Continue reading ➤ |
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After his mile world record in London two weeks ago, Josh Kerr added Commonwealth Games gold in Glasgow on Saturday. He looks back on a life-changing fortnight and explains why he must now step back from “the fire” before going after the world 1500m record, which has stood for 28 years. Continue reading ➤ |
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Two of Britain’s most influential financial market and geopolitical commentators, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard and Jeremy Warner, provide in-depth analysis of the world’s biggest economic issues – and what might happen next – in our exclusive Economic Intelligence newsletter.
It has already established itself as the best vantage point for taking in our coverage of the domestic and global economy. Our experts give insightful commentary into everything from Andy Burnham’s chances of achieving growth to Donald Trump’s struggles to reshape global trade.
Ambrose and Jeremy explain the stories behind the latest news for readers who understand that the economic effects of events such as the wars in Ukraine and Iran are not contained by national borders.
From this week, we’ll be sending Economic Intelligence twice a week, with Ambrose writing on Tuesday and Jeremy on Thursday.
Our journalists tell you what each event means, and what is coming next. They want to hear from you, too.
Read the latest edition here ➤
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Are you finding that your weekly grocery shop is setting you back more than it should? The price of food has increased by 30.5 per cent since April 2022, according to The Food Foundation, and cooking from scratch with real ingredients has somehow become less economical than eating ultra-processed junk foods. The good news, says nutritionist Emily English, is that there are still cost-effective ways to eat well. She recommends ditching posh sourdough, swapping fresh salmon for tinned sardines and eating oats for breakfast among her budget-friendly tips. Continue reading ➤
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Cats should be bannedEvery week, one of our writers takes an unfashionable position, either defending a subject that’s been unfairly maligned or criticising something that most people love.
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Greg Dickinson Senior Travel Writer |
My conviction that cats should be banned started as an overreaction to a trivial event. Namely, my infant son stepping in something rather unpleasant on our lawn.
One of the reasons I don’t own a pet is because I would rather not spend my precious days on Earth cleaning up after a non-human creature. Here I was, with a knife and a bowl of soapy water, chiselling the soles of my son’s trainers.
Once I reached the conclusion that cats should be banned, or at least contained, I spotted further examples of cats causing a public nuisance. One cat at the bottom of our cul de sac has started viciously clawing at dogs on their evening walks. In a quite distressing incident, a family friend was recently attacked by a spooked neighbour’s cat while she was carrying her granddaughter down the stairs. The infant was unharmed, but the grandmother was hospitalised for her leg wounds.
Cats were domesticated to help early societies manage pests. Now, they have become the pest themselves. Indeed there is an argument that “pest” doesn’t go far enough. Cats are an ecological disaster. They are non-native predators, maiming and killing tens of millions of birds and other animals per year in the UK alone. Globally, we are talking about billions of animal deaths.
They are, indeed, one of the world’s most rampant invasive animals and have contributed to the extinction of 63 species, including the Lyall’s wren – a small, flightless bird from New Zealand.
I appreciate I will be vexing around one in four UK households here. According to the charity Cats Protection, there are around 10.2 million cats in the UK. I have family, dear friends, and indeed some lovely neighbours who all adore their cats.
I have, I admit, loved a cat before. Jinxy, my neighbour’s cat when I lived in Brixton, was a source of company and affection during the pandemic. Cats can be a great support, particularly for people suffering from loneliness. One study even suggests cat-owners are 30 per cent less likely to suffer serious cardiovascular issues, due to their calming presence – who knew?
I accept that banning cats won’t happen – 10 Downing Street has a cat, after all. But if cats are defecating on lawns and killing millions of native animals per year, it’s fair to say they don’t currently exist within the parameters of a normal, civilised society.
Could we, dare I suggest it, ban them from free roaming? We wouldn’t be the first. In parts of Canberra, Australia, cats must be contained on their owner’s premises at all times. Some corners of New Zealand have imposed a blanket ban on new domestic cats. A handful of Icelandic municipalities have strict rules, owing to ecosystem disruption; in Akureyri, a cat curfew between midnight and 7am aims to protect nesting birds.
Do you agree with Greg? Send your replies here, and the best of the bunch will feature in a future edition.
Please confirm in your reply that you are happy to be featured and that we have your permission to use your name. |
Let’s talk trifleEvery weekday, Orlando Bird, our loyal reader correspondent, shares an off-piste topic that has brought out the best of your opinions and stories. Orlando writes:
There’s been a glut of good news for fans of retro foods. Just yesterday, we were discussing the revived fortunes of the tinned sardine. Now the talk is all about trifle. In a recent column, Rowan Pelling noted with relief that the pudding was back in fashion. I can’t say I felt quite the same elation: trifle, in truth, has never really done it for me, though I admire its conceptual commitment to excess.
Readers – who broadly take the view that the best trifle is the trifle one’s mother made – have been sharing recipes. Bryony Hill recalled: “My mother would break up a packet of sponges into a cut-glass bowl, mix the best apricot jam with a reasonable slug of medium-dry Amontillado sherry (plus a glass for the cook) and drizzle it over the broken sponge. She then made a pint of Bird’s custard using whole milk, but without adding too much sugar, and poured this over the other ingredients. When it was cold, she whipped some double cream and piled this on top. The final touch was a handful of toasted almond flakes. No fruit, no jelly and absolutely no sprinkles.”
Pauline Dobson-Spink read this recipe “with exclamations of ‘yes, no, yes, no’. Yes to broken trifle sponges; yes to a good slug of dry sherry (mostly for the trifle); no to apricot jam, but rather a tin of raspberries in natural syrup (or fresh if available); definitely no to jelly or sprinkles; sorry, but no to Bird’s custard (much as I love it) – it must be mother’s “proper” custard with cornflour, milk and eggs; no to whipped cream; yes, instead, to a large jug of double cream to accompany; and, of course, a huge yes to toasted almond flakes.”
Booze was a non-negotiable component for many, but M J James highlighted one pitfall: “In the 1950s, our Italian mother was asked to make a large trifle for a Women’s Institute celebration in rural Wales. It did not occur to her that most of the members would be Methodists and might be teetotallers, so she made her usual trifle using at least half a bottle of medium-dry cooking sherry. Everyone came back for ‘seconds’ and wanted her recipe. Our father, who understood these things, urged her not to tell them.” Trifle fan? Send your recipes here and the best of the bunch will feature in a future edition of this newsletter.
Please confirm in your reply that you are happy to be featured and that we have your permission to use your name. |
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1944 | Anne Frank is arrested in Amsterdam following a tip-off from a still-anonymous informer
1962 | Nelson Mandela is captured by South African police
2002 | Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells go missing in Soham (the story was front page news as the desperate search for the girls intensified)
2011 | Mark Duggan is shot by police in London, sparking widespread riots
Birthdays: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (45), Barack Obama (66), Billy Bob Thornton (71)
Which food item did Jamie Oliver, TV chef, say he wanted banned by UK mayors?
1. Cheese and onion crisps
2. Chewing gum
3. Carrots
4. Fish fingers |
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Find as many words as you can in today’s Panagram, including the nine-letter solution. Visit Telegraph Puzzles to play a range of head-scratching games, including PlusWord, Sorted, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords.
Yesterday’s Panagram was CAPTAINCY. Come back tomorrow for the solution to today’s puzzle. |
Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow. Chris Evans, Editor
P.S. I’d love to hear what you think of this newsletter. You can email me your feedback at fromtheeditor@telegraph.co.uk. |
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