PC Andrew Harper’s murderers will stay in prison after Andy Burnham announced changes to the early‑release scheme to ease overcrowding, saying he understood “how strongly people feel about this issue”.
The prime minister said anyone convicted of unlawful killing, including all forms of manslaughter, would be excluded from the scheme, which previously would have made two of the officer’s killers eligible for early release. The statement followed Burnham’s September order to review plans for releasing thousands of killers, rapists and sex offenders.
“We will now not only keep offenders serving time for indecent assault locked up, but also those imprisoned for manslaughter and death by dangerous driving,” the prime minister declared. “The criminals responsible for PC Andrew Harper’s killing will not have their sentences shortened.”
Ministers have warned that without the early‑release scheme cells could run out, but Burnham said capacity could be created by deporting foreign prisoners and freeing some inmates serving indefinite sentences.
The decision follows months of pressure on the government and campaigning by Harper’s family and former colleagues to block his killers’ release.
Harper, 28, died from injuries sustained while responding to a quad‑bike theft in Sulhamstead, Berkshire, in August 2019. Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, both 17 at the time and passengers in the vehicle, received 13‑year manslaughter sentences and may now be eligible for early release under the new Sentencing Act.
Speaking to the BBC, which first reported the U‑turn, Burnham said he had “heard” Harper’s family. “I heard what Andrew Harper’s family were saying; nobody would want those guilty of killing a police officer released early,” he said.
Debbie Adlam, Harper’s mother, said she felt “a mixed bag of emotions” and that the campaign had been traumatic. “On the one hand we are glad, but we’ve been through the mill and we are back where we started,” she told BBC Breakfast. “We are not making headway; we are fighting to return to where we were.”
She added concern for other families and victims facing early release. “The system still has huge gaps, and I hope what Andy Burnham says is true and that a further overhaul will occur in the coming years. It is needed for our sake.”
Burnham admitted the revised plan would keep “hundreds” more people in prison, meaning additional space will be required in a system already strained.
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