PC Andrew Harper’s killers will be excluded from the prison early release scheme after Prime Minister Andy Burnham said anyone convicted of unlawful killing would be exempt.
The Prime Minister has been forced to keep hundreds more people behind bars who would otherwise be eligible for release to ensure Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole are not let out.
Bowers and Cole, two of PC Harper’s three killers, were passengers in the car that dragged the police officer down a country road after he got caught in a strap attached to the vehicle as they fled the scene of a quad bike theft in Sulhamstead, Berkshire, in 2019.
There has been a major public and political outcry at the possibility that under the scheme designed to reduce overcrowding they would be released next year, just halfway through their 13-year sentences for manslaughter.
Mr Burnham had wanted to exempt just killers of emergency service workers from the scheme but was told such a move would open the door to legal challenges that the government would probably lose.
Instead the PM today told the BBC all those in prison for unlawful killing would be exempted, meaning ‘hundreds’ will not now be eligible for release, alongside prisoners convicted of historic child sex offences.
Speaking today to the BBC, Mr Burnham said he shared the ‘concern and anger’ of the public about prisoners such as Bowers and Cole being released early.
Mr Burnham said: ‘I know how strongly people feel about this issue.
PC Andrew Harper was killed in August 2019 when responding to a quad bike theft in Berkshire
PC Harper’s killers Albert Bowers (left) and Jessie Cole (right), pictured outside court in 2020
‘That’s why I took action during my first weeks as Prime Minister to block some of the very worst in society being released before they should.
‘We moved quickly to block vile criminals who commit rape, sexually abuse children and groom vulnerable young people.’
He continued: ‘But I always said I wanted to do more. We will now not only be keeping offenders serving time for indecent assault locked up, but also those in prison for manslaughter and death by dangerous driving.
‘This means that the awful criminals responsible for the killing of PC Andrew Harper will not have their sentence shortened.’
The Prime Minister ordered a review of the changes to the Sentencing Act, which is being undertaken by Justice Secretary Alex Norris and is set to be published when Parliament returns from summer recess this week.
Labour’s early release scheme started in September 2024 with the aim of easing overcrowding in jails.
It allows certain prisoners to be released after serving 40 per cent of their fixed-term sentence, rather than the usual 50 per cent.
The 2026 Sentencing Act, which became law earlier this year, allows for an expansion of the early release scheme by reducing the threshold from 40 per cent of a fixed-term sentence to a third.
Labour’s early release scheme started in September 2024 with the aim of easing overcrowding in jails. A police officer and inmates are pictured outside Brixton Prison in London that month
Since becoming Prime Minister, Mr Burnham has excluded rapists and child sex offenders from being eligible for the scheme following widespread condemnation.
Some 5,000 people are now expected to be released early under sentencing changes under the Government’s scheme, down from 6,000 after Mr Burnham’s two exemptions were put in place.
Unlawful act manslaughter is when a person causes the death of another while committing a separate illegal act.
Mr Burnham said extra space in prisons would be created by deporting foreign prisoners and releasing inmates who are serving indefinite sentences under Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences (IPPs), which were given to offenders considered a significant risk to the public between 2005 and 2012.
Full details of the latest changes are expected to be revealed by the Justice Secretary when Parliament returns.
