Burnham bows to public fury and blocks PC Harper's killers from early release, along with grooming gang members
PC Andrew Harper, whose killing by three teenagers prompted his widow Lissie Harper's relentless campaign, is central to Andy Burnham's decision to exclude manslaughter convictions from early release.Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, two of PC Andrew Harper's killers, will now remain behind bars after Andy Burnham's reversal means manslaughter convictions no longer qualify for early release.
• Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, who killed PC Andrew Harper by dragging him behind a car in 2019, will not be released early after Burnham announced that unlawful killing convictions now disqualify offenders from the scheme. The changes also cover grooming gang members, those convicted of indecent assault and death by dangerous driving, keeping 'hundreds' more prisoners behind bars. Harper's mother Debbie Adlam described herself as 'grateful' but said the family is 'only back at where we were to start with' after several 'traumatic' months. With prisons running at 98% capacity, Burnham says space will be created by removing foreign nationals through deportation and freeing some offenders still serving sentences under the now-abolished indefinite regime.
Government insiders privately acknowledge the move is a 'political decision', with the Ministry of Justice having previously warned that further exemptions risked prisons 'reaching capacity and collapsing'.
Bowers and Cole were each sentenced to 13 years for manslaughter in 2020 and would have become eligible for release next year, at the midpoint of their terms.
Thames Valley Police Chief Constable Jason Hogg welcomed the decision, saying he hoped it would bring 'reassurance' to Harper's family and other bereaved victims.
