Thames Valley Police is considering joining a legal challenge to prevent the early release of Pc Andrew Harper's killers, as his widow backed a petition against the government's plans.
Lissie Harper described feeling "punched in the gut" by the decision to proceed with a scheme that could see Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers freed from October. Chief Constable Jason Hogg said he was receiving legal advice on whether the force could join a challenge mooted by the local Police Federation.
Petition and Public Outcry
More than 150,000 people have signed a petition in the past 24 hours demanding the government keep the killers in jail. The scheme is expected to release around 5,000 prisoners early, down from 6,000 after ministers exempted rapists and serious child sex offenders.
Cole and Bowers remain eligible for release halfway through their 13-year sentences for manslaughter, following Pc Harper's death in 2019. Ms Harper said: "Government has punched us in the gut… they should be ashamed of themselves. Hopefully we can make the current Government come to their senses and realise we cannot put people like this back on our streets. Justice should mean justice and serving the sentence given."
Police and Political Reactions
Aileen O'Connor, chair of the Thames Valley Police Federation, said releasing Cole and Bowers would anger and demoralise officers. Writing in The Sun, she said: "We will throw everything at this through a proper legal challenge from KCs, barristers, you name it. Our colleagues will accept nothing less. It is a final betrayal from the politicians, who are supposed to be on our side."
Mr Hogg told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "This is something I certainly would consider. But like I said, I urge the Government now. I do think that the public opinion is overwhelming in this matter, but I think it's unfair and I do believe confidence in the criminal justice system risks being damaged. It's right for the Government to have a look at this matter."
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said she supported the Police Federation in considering a judicial review, stating: "I'm not arguing against early release. We've had early release even under Conservatives. I'm against early release of this dangerous category of rapists, paedophiles, killers, including the killers of Pc Andrew Harper."
Government Defense and Case Details
Justice minister Jake Richards defended the scheme, saying: "It would be wrong to pick out individual cases within different offending cohorts. That wouldn't be right. It wouldn't be lawful either. If we do not have prison places available then the police, the good work that they do every day on the streets, finding perpetrators, locking them up, it would be impossible."
Pc Harper was 28 when he sustained fatal injuries responding to a quad bike theft in Sulhamstead, Berkshire, in August 2019. He was dragged down a country road after getting caught in a strap attached to a car. The driver, Henry Long, received a 16-year sentence and is not eligible for the scheme.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he wanted to "go further" with exemptions but this was "not possible without the prison system reaching capacity and collapsing." Those released will face tougher probation conditions, including electronic monitoring and random drug testing.
Questions have been raised about exemptions for child sex offenders, with The Times reporting rules will not apply to some historical cases. Victims' commissioner Claire Waxman is seeking clarification after the Ministry of Justice was unable to specify which offences would be excluded. Mr Richards told Sky News: "We've set out and published all the offences which have been carved out of the new scheme that begins in October. Those are all online, several pages. But what we have been very clear is that we cannot carve out every single offence that people might want us to do so."
