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The chief constable of Pc Andrew Harper’s police force has attacked Labour’s early release of prisoners after The Telegraph revealed two of his killers could soon be freed.
Jason Hogg, chief constable of Thames Valley Police, urged Andy Burnham to change the law and stop Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole from being freed halfway through their sentences, saying their proposed release was “wrong”.
His comments added to a backlash over the early release scheme after Lissie Harper, the police officer’s widow, described it as “deplorable”.
Pc Harper, 28, had been investigating the theft of a quad bike in August 2019 when Bowers and Cole attempted to flee the scene in a car driven by Henry Long.
The officer was dragged for more than a mile along country roads after his ankles became caught in a tow rope.
Bowers and Cole were each jailed for 13 years in 2020 for manslaughter. Long was jailed for 16 years and is not eligible for early release.
Mr Burnham said he would review the potential release of the killers while the Conservatives have proposed emergency legislation to exempt rapists and paedophiles from the scheme.
Matthew Barber, the police and crime commissioner for Thames Valley, and Aileen O’Connor, the chairman of Thames Valley Police Federation, have also called for the killers’ release to be blocked.
Mr Hogg said: “The tragedy of Andrew Harper’s death has had a lasting impact, both within Thames Valley Police and across policing and our communities nationally. It is a real and constant reminder of the dedication of officers and staff who respond without hesitation to protect their communities.
“Under the law that bears Andrew’s name, if his killers were convicted today, they would be receiving life sentences. For this reason, for them to be released early under the new sentencing act legislation feels wrong. I have written to the Prime Minister, the Home Secretary and the Justice Secretary to make my opinion on this clear.”
In a written statement, Mrs Harper accused politicians of “making decisions from behind a desk that will have real and lasting consequences for victims’ families like mine”, and said “Andrew deserves better”.
She led the campaign for Harper’s Law, which introduced a mandatory life sentence for anyone convicted of the murder or manslaughter of emergency workers while committing a crime.
The Labour Party backed the campaign at the time, and supported Conservatives’ amendments to enact the mandatory life sentences.
In her statement on Wednesday, Mrs Harper said: “It has taken me years to rebuild a life that was torn apart in a matter of moments. Years to pick up the pieces left behind by three men whose actions robbed Andrew of his life and stole our future.
“Now – once again – politicians are making decisions from behind a desk that will have real and lasting consequences for victims’ families like mine.
“It is deplorable to me that we have reached a point where releasing prisoners early is even considered acceptable. We speak of justice, accountability and standing with victims, yet decisions like this do the opposite.
“They tell victims their suffering matters less, and offenders that the punishment handed down by our courts is no longer what they will actually serve.”
She continued: “When I fought for Harper’s Law, I was supported not only by the Conservative Government of the day but by the Labour Party too.
“They pledged to support our cause and agreed that those who kill emergency workers should face tougher sentences because some crimes are so grave they demand meaningful punishment. That cross-party support helped make Harper’s Law a reality. Today, it feels forgotten.
“For victims’ families, this is not about politics. It is about whether a sentence means what a judge says it means. It is about whether justice is something we truly believe in, or something that can be negotiated away when it becomes inconvenient.”
Mrs Harper concluded: “Andrew deserves better. Every victim deserves better. And the British public deserve a justice system they can have faith in.”
Debbie Adlam, Pc Harper’s mother, told The Telegraph that the potential early release of the killers was an “insult beyond anything able to be put into words”.
Referring to the case, Mr Burnham told reporters in Bath: “On the broader issue, I feel for the family, it’s an appalling crime that was committed. The main perpetrator [driver Henry Long] will not be subject to any early release.
“Of course, others involved have potentially been identified. But I’ve spoken to the new Justice Secretary [Alex Norris]. We will review the policy together and make further statements in due course.”
Mr Burnham is under pressure to exempt the most serious offenders from the early release scheme including killers, rapists, child groomers and criminals convicted of serious violence against emergency workers.
Government sources denied reports that prison bosses had been ordered to pause the plans but acknowledged that there might be delays in telling prisoners their release dates until the review was complete.
Bowers and Cole are among more than 5,000 criminals due to be freed early under the scheme over the 10 months from September when it becomes operational.
The policy allows serious criminals – including killers, rapists and child groomers – to be eligible for release halfway through their sentences rather than two-thirds of the way through, provided they have not committed any serious rule breaches while in prison.
Criminals convicted of less serious offences are eligible to be freed as little as a third of the way through their sentences.
Claire Waxman, the victims’ commissioner, wrote to Mr Burnham on Wednesday saying she was not confident measures were in place to protect the public. She has called for the most serious offenders to be excluded.
She said: “As things stand, I do not have confidence that these releases can be managed in a way that fully safeguards victims, protects the public and maintains confidence in the justice system.”
Ms Adlam said: “It makes me feel sick. Andrew’s life doesn’t get to come back. It feels like a slap in the face and an insult.
“People are getting a free pass for crime in this country. I like to try to be proud of my country, but this isn’t something to be proud of. There’s a lot going wrong.”
Ms O’Connor urged the Government to block the early release of Pc Harper’s killers, saying they should “be kept where they belong... behind bars.”
“Police across Thames Valley – and indeed the country – will be disgusted at the prospect of these smirking lowlifes being free to roam the streets,” she said. “These killers have never shown any remorse for their horrific and deadly actions that night.
“Andrew’s wife Lissie and his whole family are serving a life sentence. The least we can expect is that his killers serve their whole sentence. However poor it already is. We will be taking this matter up with the Police minister, the Home Secretary and the new Prime Minister.
“We will not stop. Andrew deserves nothing less. What message does this send about the worth of a life of a police officer? The Government and the parole board must reconsider any plans to release Andrew’s killers early. And they must do it now. No ifs. No buts.”
Police officers demand killers stay in jail
It is understood that Police Federation branches in each of the 43 forces in England and Wales will post pictures of Pc Harper on their social media in support of their demands that the Government halt his killers’ early release.
Mr Barber said he had written to Mr Burnham urging him to introduce emergency legislation to block the early release of Pc Harper’s killers. He also called on the Prime Minister to “reduce the worst effects ... on the criminal justice system” of the Sentencing Act 2026, which enshrined the changes in law.
He said: “The prospect of Andrew Harper’s killers being released early is deeply troubling. The public rightly expects serious offenders to serve sentences that reflect the gravity of their crimes.”
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Before Mr Burnham became Prime Minister on Monday, sources confirmed that he was reviewing whether to exempt rapists and child groomers in the face of the growing backlash over the plans. However, the early release scheme is written into law via the sentencing act.
Nick Timothy, the shadow justice secretary, has written to Mr Norris urging him to adopt emergency legislation proposed by the Tories to exempt rapists and paedophiles from the scheme.
An analysis of Ministry of Justice figures by the Conservatives estimated almost 2,500 rapists and paedophiles would be eligible for release in September, including more than 100 rapists jailed for more than 15 years.
Nearly 9,000 victims of serious sexual or violent crimes have been warned that their attackers will be released early from prison from September.
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, said the early release scheme was an “utter insult” to victims. “Only a Reform government will stop this madness by ending early release entirely with no suspended sentence for serious violent offences, sexual offences and knife possession,” he said.
The controversy came as Mr Burnham rebuked two of his cabinet members for joking about the early release of prisoners.
Wes Streeting was caught on camera joking that the new justice secretary, Alex Norris, was now Shabana Mahmood’s “enemy”, because he wanted to “let them all out”. Streeting has since apologised for the comments.
Asked if it was acceptable, Burnham said: “No, it’s not, and certainly that’s been acknowledged, and apologies have been made.”
Police officers who put their lives on the line need justice system that commands trust
By Brian Booth
In just over three weeks it will be the seventh anniversary of Pc Andrew Harper’s death. I vividly remember attending Andrew’s funeral in Oxford. The grief and dignity in the face of despair I saw among Andrew’s family, friends and colleagues will never leave me.
Police funerals like Andrew’s see officers from up and down the country come together to remember a life lost and every force cap badge is represented – the seaxes of Essex stand next to the bears of Warwickshire and officers from Penzance to Penrith pause to reflect and remember.
Those officers will feel anger and disgust thanks to the decision under the new Sentencing Act to release two of those convicted of his manslaughter at least two years before they would have otherwise been eligible. And some of them will feel scared at the prospect of more violent offenders coming back too early on to the streets they are charged with protecting.
The new Prime Minister has committed to reviewing releases like this and we welcome his early engagement because this case isn’t just about Andrew Harper. It’s about the state we are in where the only obvious solution the Government has conjured up to the prison overcrowding issue is “let violent criminals out of prison early”.
Whatever the legal justification, police officers find it difficult to understand how justice is served when individuals connected to such a devastating crime leave custody earlier than expected, not because a court has reduced their sentence, nor because their level of risk has fundamentally changed, but because the prison estate cannot accommodate them.
Ministers reviewing these arrangements must now reflect on the wider message early release of violent offenders sends to those at the sharp end of law enforcement. Officers are being asked to shoulder growing pressures at every stage of the criminal justice system.
They manage rising demand, investigate serious violence, support victims through lengthy court delays and repeatedly place themselves in dangerous situations to bring offenders before the courts.
Assaults on police officers remain at record levels. At the same time, unprecedented numbers of experienced officers are voting with their feet, concluding the risks to their safety and wellbeing are simply too great. Against that backdrop, this would be a dangerous moment for Government not to walk back measures that risk sending both police morale and public confidence in the criminal justice system into further decline.
Victims deserve to know that sentences mean what they appear to mean. Communities deserve confidence that dangerous offenders are being dealt with appropriately. Police officers deserve to know that when they risk their safety to protect the public, the justice system standing behind them commands credibility and trust.
Prison capacity is undoubtedly an operational challenge. But operational challenges should not be allowed to redefine punishment. The solution to prison overcrowding cannot simply be to reduce the time violent offenders spend behind bars. That may ease immediate pressure on the prison estate, but it risks creating a deeper and more damaging problem: the erosion
of faith in the justice system itself.
In acting so quickly, it seems the Prime Minister is alert to those risks and we must hope that the new Justice Secretary is more alive to both the realities of risk and the optics of release than his predecessor.
This is a difficult time to be a police officer. The faith of each and every one of my 145,000 members in the social contract that binds their service to the King is being tested like never before. They are entitled to ask that Government reflects on a simple question: why is releasing violent offenders early presented as an unavoidable necessity, while sending police officers out single-crewed to confront those same offenders remains an acceptable risk?
Brian Booth is the deputy national chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales
