@c5news: The timing isn’t good. As outrage builds around the possible early release of two men who killed PC Andrew Harper, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood have been caught out in a video joking about the early release of prisoners. PC Harper sustained fatal injuries after he responded to a quad bike theft in Berkshire in August 2019. Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, both 17 at the time, were jailed for 13 years for manslaughter over the 28-year-old's death. Both men might be eligible to be released from prison halfway through their sentences, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed.  A third offender, Henry Long, who was jailed for 16 years, is not eligible for the scheme. PC Harper’s mum, Debbie Adlam, has said news of the possible early release “makes me feel sick”. She told The Telegraph: “It feels like a slap in the face and an insult.” Prime Minister Andy Burnham has since said he is looking into the matter and that the new Justice Secretary will “review the policy”. In a video published by news website Guido Fawkes, the new Justice Secretary, Alex Norris, can be seen walking towards Mr Streeting and Ms Mahmood. Mr Streeting can be heard calling Mr Norris, “the enemy now”, while the home secretary insists, “no he’s not”.  Mr Streeting goes on to say, “he (Mr Norris) wants to let them all out” in an apparent reference to the government’s plans for releasing inmates early to combat overcrowing in prisons. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has been critical of the video saying that while Andy Burnham’s new cabinet is “joking about letting criminals out of prison early”, her party is “listening to victims and will continue to fight this disgusting policy”. Mr Streeting and Ms Mahmood have both apologised. "I hope everyone can see there was no ill intent behind this ribbing of the new justice secretary - it was a reference to an old May/Clarke joke," the defence secretary said in a post on X. "But I appreciate these are very serious issues and am sorry for any offence inadvertently caused by this moment of levity." In 2017, Theresa May said of her Conservative colleague Ken Clarke, who had served as justice secretary, that: "When I was home secretary, I used to say, 'I locked 'em up and he let 'em out'." The home secretary wrote: "I think everyone can see there was no ill intent behind this ribbing of the new Lord Chancellor - a role I once filled and which comes with immense challenges thanks to the vandalism inflicted on our justice system by the last Conservative government. "But I appreciate this is an extremely serious issue and do not want anyone to mistake this moment of levity for a lack of serious intent." #5news #UKpolitics #prisoners

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Wednesday 22 July 2026 10:47:45 GMT