Two of police constable Andrew Harper’s killers could reportedly be released from prison early under Labour’s new plans to tackle prison overcrowding.
Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, who were jailed for 13 years in 2020 for the manslaughter of PC Harper are reportedly eligible to be freed just halfway through their sentences as part of the government’s early release scheme, according to The Telegraph.
PC Harper, 28, was working for Thames Valley Police when he sustained fatal injuries while responding to a quad bike theft in Sulhamstead, Berkshire, in 2019. He was caught in a strap attached to the back of a car and dragged down a winding country road as the three teenage suspects fled the scene of the burglary.
Henry Long, 19, was sentenced to 16 years while 18-year-olds Cole and Bowers were handed 13 years in custody over the manslaughter of the Thames Valley Police traffic officer.
His mother, Debbie Adlam, told The Telegraph that she had received a letter from the Ministry of Justice informing her that his killers may have their sentence reduced.
She said that their potential early release was an “insult beyond anything able to be put into words”.
“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,” she said.
The government’s early release scheme is meant to tackle prison overcrowding as the government has predicted the incarcerated population could increase to between 98,000 and 103,600 by March 2030, with a central estimate of 100,600.
Some prisoners will now serve 40 per cent of their sentence in prison rather than 50 per cent.
PC Harper’s wife Lissie, who he had married just a month prior to his death, would go on to campaign for Harper’s Law, which extended mandatory life sentences to anyone who commits the manslaughter of an emergency worker on duty.
She was made an MBE in 2022 for her services to victims of violent crime and their families. A memorial stone was unveiled in Reading dedicated to PC Harper in April.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson 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.”
