Pc Andrew Harper's Killers to Be Excluded From Early Release Scheme in the UK

Offenders serving sentences for specific categories of manslaughter will no longer qualify for early discharge, including Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, The Telegraph reported. Prime Minister Andy Burnham previously promised to do "everything possible" to ensure the pair were not freed from custody, following widespread condemnation of the scheme. However, he declined to confirm this specific change relating to "unlawful act" manslaughter earlier this month, telling reporters it was "speculation".

He ordered a review into the policy, which is being conducted by Justice Secretary Alex Norris and is expected to be published when Parliament returns from summer recess in September. Mr Norris was asked by Mr Burnham "to develop a plan to maximise public safety and minimise the early release of prisoners". Police chiefs have since been told Mr Norris will introduce secondary legislation to amend the Sentencing Act, according to the newspaper.

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. Under the scheme's current rules, they would be released next year, halfway through their 13-year sentences. 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% of their fixed-term sentence, rather than the usual 50%.

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% of a fixed-term sentence to a third. Since becoming Prime Minister, Mr Burnham has excluded rapists and child sex offenders from being eligible for the scheme. Unlawful act manslaughter is when a person causes the death of another while committing a separate illegal act.

A Government spokesperson said: The death of Pc Andrew Harper was a horrific crime. Our thoughts are with his family and friends, and we share the anger from the police community that we are in this position. The Prime Minister has asked the Justice Secretary to work through further options to keep a greater number of the most serious offenders in prison, including the killers of Pc Harper. Thanks to tireless campaigning by Andrew's family, Harper's Law means that anyone convicted of killing an emergency worker whilst committing a crime now gets a mandatory life sentence.