Prisoner release should be based on 'risk not feelings' Jess Phillips tells Electoral Dysfunction

Which prisoners get released early should be based on "risk not feelings", former Home Office minister Jess Phillips has told Sky News.

Ms Phillips was speaking to Conservative peer Ruth Davidson on an Insider edition of Electoral Dysfunction.

The pair were discussing the recent news about two of PC Andrew Harper's killers being eligible for early release, which has sparked criticism from the officer's family.

On Tuesday, Andy Burnham said he was "confident more can be done" to address public concern over the prison early release scheme.

Ms Phillips said: "There has to be a system where the people who are released, it is based on their risk.

"And to assess that you are going to have to speak to the police, you're going to have to speak to the victims in their cases.

"There needs to be some system where - whether it's the home secretary or somebody - goes, 'No, veto that one'."

You can listen to the full conversation on the Sky News Insider edition of Electoral Dysfunction.

Subscribers to Sky News Insider will be able to enjoy ad-free access, bonus episodes and early releases. (Requires paid subscription. UK only. 18+).

Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers were in the car that dragged PC Harper to his death in 2019. The pair were convicted of manslaughter in 2020 and given 13-year terms.

But it is expected they could be freed early, after they have served half their sentences, under the Sentencing Act 2026. They previously would have been considered for release after two-thirds of their term.

Driver Henry Long received a 16-year sentence for manslaughter and will not be eligible for early release.

Downing Street has said it cannot exempt just Cole and Bowers from early release without also exempting everyone else convicted of manslaughter.

Speaking about the Harper case specifically, Ms Phillips added: "There's got to be something in the system that says, not this guy.

"And actually, it should be based on risk, not feelings or press.

"It should be based on risk, and governors, probation, police, children's services, and victim services should be involved in that."

Ms Phillips served as a minister under Sir Keir Starmer but resigned and has since said she would not go back into government.

She told Baroness Davidson she thinks the Andy Burnham government "will listen" to her calls to treat domestic abuse offenders like terrorists, when it comes to monitoring perpetrators and protecting victims.

Systems that let victims warn authorities if offenders are still threatening them need to be built, Ms Phillips added, as they currently don't exist.

The early release system should go ahead, Ms Phillips confirmed, as prisons are overcrowded to the point of breaking.

"But there is a way that you've got to do it with that, with making it safe for the public," she said, "and I think there's quite a lot of work to be done".

(c) Sky News 2026: Prisoner release should be based on 'risk not feelings' Jess Phillips tells Electoral Dysfunct