Debbie Adlam, the mother of PC Andrew Harper, appeared on Tuesday's Good Morning Britain and revealed she had been contacted by Andy Burnham's chief of staff. The call came amid the early prisoner release scheme that could see her son's killers released.
Contact from Burnham's Office
Adlam told Kate Garraway and Richard Madeley that she received a call from Burnham's Chief of Staff on Monday night. She was informed that the prime minister is doing his best to prevent Jesse Cole and Albert Bowers from being released early.
"I have hope back, [but] I'm very cautious with my hope," Adlam admitted. "Until something happens, here we sit."
Guarded Optimism
Adlam said she has some "hope" but remains guarded, adding, "The fight goes on, nothing's been done." She declared, "It's not happening till it's happened."
Speaking of the early prisoner release scheme, Adlam criticised the government as "very soft" in their handling of the crisis. Asked how the conversation had ended, she told Madeley that she did not know when she would next hear from the government. "No, it's just basically, keep in touch, really. But, obviously, I was glad to hear from them, so the hope is back."
Outrage and Background
Prior to her appearance, Adlam had publicly expressed her outrage. "I feel like I'm going around in circles, and Andrew deserves more than this," she said in a clip aired before her interview. "We're not talking about a special case for one or two people that killed Andrew, we are talking about emergency service worker killers."
PC Harper, 28, was killed in August 2019 after responding to a quad bike theft in Sulhamstead, Berkshire. He became entangled in a strap attached to a vehicle and was dragged along a country road as the suspects fled.
Under the early prisoner release scheme, Cole and Bowers could be eligible for release in January, after serving half of their 13-year sentences.
