The prime minister wants justice secretary Alex Norris to “work through further options” to prevent the early release of Jessie Cole and Albert Bower. Burnham has been hit with a furious backlash since it emerged that Norris and Cole would benefit from the early release scheme. AdvertisementHowever, Norris will now look at ways to keep “a greater number of the the most serious offenders” behind bars. AdvertisementBurnham announced he was pausing the early release scheme two weeks ago following public anger. “He is now increasingly confident that a solution can be found to prevent the release of the killers of PC Harper.