SerpApi.Org
Two of Pc Andrew Harper’s killers are set to be released early from jail under Labour plans to tackle prison overcrowding.
Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, who were jailed for 13 years in 2020 for the manslaughter of Harper, 28, are now eligible to be freed just halfway through their sentences under the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) early release scheme.
The pair, who were 17 at the time, in August 2019, were in the car that dragged Harper for more than a mile along country roads when his ankles got caught in a towrope loop.
Harper had gone to investigate the theft of a quad bike when Bowers and Cole tried to escape in a car driven by the third killer, Henry Long, who is not eligible for early release. Harper sustained serious injuries and died in the road.
Debbie Adlam, the police officer’s mother, has been told that his killers may have their sentence reduced in a letter from the MoJ, which admits the “information may be difficult” given “the lasting impact the offence may have had on you”.
She told The Telegraph that the potential early release of the killers was an “insult beyond anything able to be put into words”.
“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,” she said.
“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.”
It is unclear precisely when Bowers and Cole will become eligible for release, but it could be by the end of the year.
Long, the driver, will be able to seek parole after serving half of his 16-year jail sentence and is not eligible for early release under the scheme.
The sentences handed to Harper’s killers sparked a national outcry and a campaign for “Harper’s Law”, which introduced a mandatory life sentence for anyone convicted of killing emergency workers while committing a crime.
The campaign was led by the officer’s widow, Lissie Harper, and Labour backed it at the time. It also supported Tory amendments to enact the mandatory life sentences.
Frontbenchers Nick Thomas-Symonds and Sarah Jones, who is now the policing minister, met Mrs Harper, who had married Harper just one month before his death, to give her their support.
Ellie Reeves, now the Attorney General, told MPs in 2022: “It is right that emergency service workers who put themselves at risk to keep the rest of us safe are protected by the strongest shield that the criminal justice system can provide.”
Pc Harper’s killers’ eligibility for early release will fuel fresh demands for Andy Burnham’s new government to rethink the early release scheme.
Under the scheme, serious criminals, including killers, rapists and child groomers, are eligible to be freed 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.
It is expected to become operational this September and lead to the early release of more than 5,000 offenders over the following 10 months.
Before Mr Burnham became Prime Minister on Monday, sources confirmed that he was reviewing whether and how to exempt rapists and child groomers in the face of the growing backlash.
However, the release scheme is written into law via the 2026 Sentencing Act.
Told of the forthcoming early release of Harper’s killers by The Telegraph, Nick Timothy, the shadow justice secretary, said: “Labour lied to Parliament when they said their Sentencing Act would not reduce sentences for the most heinous crimes.
“It would be an absolute disgrace if the killers of Pc Andrew Harper get out of prison early. Labour must work with us and back our emergency legislation to stop the release of sex offenders and vile criminals like these killers.”
Brian Booth, deputy national chairman of the Police Federation, said: “Police officers from across the country stood side by side to honour Andrew Harper at his funeral. They and every serving officer will be utterly sickened at the prospect of Bowers and Cole being back on the streets so soon.
“We’ve raised multiple concerns with Government about the inclusion in early release schemes of violent offenders who target police officers. It’s time for Government to change course and show that their support for police officer safety is about more than just words.”
The Telegraph revealed last week that nearly 9,000 victims of serious violent or sexual crimes had been warned that their attackers are set to be freed early from prison under the scheme from September.
Claire Waxman, the victims’ commissioner, and senior Labour MPs, including Jess Phillips, the former Home Office minister, have called for sex offenders and child groomers to be excluded from the scheme.
The Conservatives used an opposition day this month to table an amendment to the act, which would have exempted “any offender who has been convicted of any sexual offence against an adult or a child, including rape and grooming, or convicted of the attempt, conspiracy, or incitement to commit such offences”.
An analysis of MoJ data 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.
An MoJ spokesman said: “This was a horrific crime, and our deepest sympathies are with Pc Andrew Harper’s family and friends.
“In 2024, the country was facing a prison crisis and a total breakdown of law and order, with judges ordered to stop jailing dangerous criminals. This government is committed to public safety: we are building prison places at the fastest rate since the Victorian era, and taking the difficult decisions needed to lock up the most dangerous offenders.”
