Burnham vows to ‘push as hard as possible’ to prevent early release of drug dealer who killed boy, 7, in cannabis lab blast
The Prime Minister said he "will do every single thing I can” to prevent the early release of seven-year-old Archie York's killer.
Andy Burnham has said he will "push the system as hard as I can" to help a mother bidding to keep the man responsible for her son's death behind bars.
Listen to this article
Archie York, seven, died in an explosion at an illegal cannabis factory operating in the flat beneath his family home in Benwell, Newcastle, in 2024.
His killer, drug dealer Reece Galbraith, was sentenced to 14 years after admitting to manslaughter.
Archie's mother, Katherine Errington, was recently told that the man responsible for her son’s death could be among the criminals let out of prison early due to changes under the Sentencing Act.
But speaking on Wednesday, the Prime Minister vowed to “push the system as hard as I can” to prevent the release of “people involved in killings like this”.
Mr Burnham said: “I know this part of Newcastle well, and I know the feeling that there is here about what happened to Archie and the support that Katherine and her family have.
Read more: Burnham accepted more than £350,000 of donations and freebies in run-up to becoming PM
“So what I can say is, this is the reason why when I came into office I paused what I inherited, because I wasn't happy with it.
“Everything possible should be done to prevent the release of people who have been involved in killings like this.”
Mr Burnham raced to assure Ms Errington: “I will do every single thing I can.”
“I will push the system as hard as I can to make sure people involved in crimes like this are not released,” he added.
The Prime Minister's decision to pause the early release scheme came after the plans faced fury for allowing certain prisoners to be let out earlier in their sentences.
The Government is expected to set out how it will exempt some serious criminals from its early release scheme next month.
In a message to Ms Errington, Mr Burnham added: “I hear you, I can only imagine how the last few years have been, but particularly recent weeks, because I know she'll be seeing the debate in the media.
“I do say sorry to her for the limbo and the anguish that she must be feeling as this plays through.
“But I hope she'll understand why I'm doing what I'm doing, which is to pause this [and] turn over every possible stone to make sure that people who should be inside prison stay inside prison, and that's, and that's what I'm doing.”
Ms Errington is not alone in her rage at the early release scheme.
More than 3,000 people have signed a petition launched by Katherine calling on the government to exempt those convicted of manslaughter or of serious child abuse or neglect offences from eligibility for early release.
The same campaign also calls for Dana Carr, the mum of murdered County Durham toddler Maya Chappell, to be kept in prison amid fears she could be released early.
In one case that gained widespread attention, the family of killed police officer Andrew Harper hit out at the fact that two of his killers were being considered for early release.
But Mr Burnham has since vowed to prevent the early release of PC Harper’s killers “altogether”.
It comes as Justice Secretary Alex Norris prepares to present a revised version of the early release plan in Parliament next week.
Mr Burnham said: “I can't say to you today that everything is in place, but I'm working hard to see what we can do to, to minimise the release of all offenders, but particularly those who've been involved in some of the more serious crimes, and particularly crimes that involve the loss of of a young life.”