Two of the killers of PC Andrew Harper could be released this year less than halfway through their sentences under controversial Labour plans to tackle overcrowding in Britain's prisons, it has been reported.
Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole were in a car that dragged Andrew to his death when his ankles were caught in a towrope in 2019. Thames Valley Police officer Andrew, 28, had attended reports of a quadbike theft and burglary near Sulhamstead, Berks, with a colleague when he tried to stop Bowers, Cole, then aged 17, and Henry Long, who was 18 at the time.
Sentences and eligibility
Bowers and Cole were jailed for 13 years in 2020 for manslaughter, and the driver of the car, Long, was jailed for 16 years also for manslaughter. Andrew died just one month after he married his wife, Lissie.
Now it has emerged Cole and Bowers are eligible to be set free after just six years under the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) early-release scheme, which Labour claims will help ease pressure on the nation's prisons. Long is not eligible for release under the scheme, according to reports.
Family reaction
The Telegraph reports Andrew's mother Debbie Adlam has been told her son's killer may have their sentence reduced in a letter from the MoJ which said the correspondence would reveal "difficult" information.
She told the newspaper the potential decision to release the killers felt like an "insult beyond anything able to be put into words". Ms Adlam added: "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."
According to reports it is not known when Bowers or Cole could be released, but it is speculated it could be at the end of this year.
Political response
Nick Timothy, the shadow justice secretary, told The Telegraph that if the killers were released, it would be "an absolute disgrace" and he called on Labour to back the Conservatives on "emergency legislation to stop the release of sex offenders and vile criminals like these killers".
A Ministry of Justice 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."
