PM confident PC Harper killers can be blocked from early release

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has declared he is increasingly confident that his administration can prevent the early release of the men responsible for the killing of PC Andrew Harper, according to reporting by iNews, The Guardian, Yahoo News, and the Mirror.

Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers were sentenced to 13 years for manslaughter in 2020 over the death of the 28-year-old Thames Valley Police officer, who died in 2019 when he was dragged behind the getaway car of three teenagers who had fled the scene of a quad bike theft in Berkshire. Under changes to the Sentencing Act made this year, they will become eligible for release from custody next January. They are in a category of prisoners - those who have committed certain serious violent or sexual crimes - who until now would have had to serve at least two-thirds of their sentence in jail before being considered for release. Downing Street had earlier warned it would not be possible to exclude "one or two offenders" convicted of manslaughter from the early release scheme.

Media additions

However, the BBC has been told that Burnham has now instructed his justice secretary to find a way to exclude Cole and Bowers from the scheme designed to ease prison overcrowding. Debbie Adlam, PC Harper's mother, told the BBC she spoke to Andy Burnham's deputy chief of staff, who told her the prime minister wanted to do "everything he can" to find a resolution to prevent the release of Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers this January. Adlam told BBC Breakfast: "For me, it's hope, but I can't afford to be too hopeful."

"For me, it's hope, but I can't afford to be too hopeful."

Debbie Adlam, PC Harper's mother, via Yahoo News

Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary Angela Rayner said the government was still looking at all options around the prisons crisis and preventing the early release of PC Harper's killers.

The revised approach relies on creating fresh headroom within the prison system through three designated strands of work. As detailed by Inews and The Guardian, the strategy encompasses the removal of foreign offenders to their country of origin; finding “an early resolution to the long-running injustice” of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences, which he said could allow for the release of lower-risk prisoners; and “making greater use of the entire prison estate including using the female estate for male offenders”. The Prime Minister also said the Government “will seek to engage other political parties in discussions with the aim of gaining the widest possible public and political consensus on the approach being taken”.

More than 900,000 people have signed the petition set up by Thames Valley Police Federation, which calls the decision for Cole and Bowers to be eligible for early release an "insult". Aileen O’Connor told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There’s a little bit of glimmer of hope and encouragement with this latest release that we heard last night, but I can't lose sight of just hours before that we heard that there was no possibility. So for me, I’m encouraged, I’m optimistic.” Last week, PC Harper's widow, Lissie Harper, said she "will not give up" and hoped people would share a petition calling for his killers to be denied early release from prison.

What to watch next

• Parliamentary return in September, when Justice Secretary Alex Norris is scheduled to lay out detailed exemption plans before MPs.
• Cross-political party discussions initiated by Downing Street to build consensus on prison headroom strategies.
• The ongoing management of the prison population as the government attempts to balance early releases with public safety concerns.