A petition demanding that the government prevent the early release of two men convicted over the killing of PC Andrew Harper has passed one million signatures, intensifying pressure on Prime Minister Andy Burnham over the operation of England’s early-release system.
The campaign calls on Burnham and Justice Secretary Alex Norris to stop Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole from being released next year, halfway through their 13-year sentences for manslaughter.
Harper was killed in 2019 after becoming caught in a strap attached to a car and being dragged along a country road in Berkshire as three men fled the scene of a quad bike theft. Bowers and Cole were convicted in 2020.
Under changes introduced this year, the pair are due to be released after serving half their sentences. Under the previous rules, they would have served two-thirds.
Burnham has ordered Norris to develop measures to create additional prison capacity for serious offenders and said he is becoming “increasingly confident” that Harper’s killers will not benefit from early release.
The petition was established by Aileen O’Connor, chairman of the Thames Valley Police Federation, who has argued that the scale of public support demonstrates the strength of opposition to the planned releases.
The prime minister is also facing pressure from 50 senior policing figures, including Scotland Yard Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley and National Crime Agency director general Graeme Biggar, who have urged him to use “every lawful option” to prevent the men being freed early.
In a letter, the chiefs called for an additional public-protection safeguard for the most serious offenders and said victims and their families must be properly considered when sentencing and release rules are changed.
Burnham ordered a review of the early-release system shortly after taking office. Subsequent reforms restricted early release for rapists and child abusers, but did not initially cover Harper’s killers.
The prime minister has since sought to reassure Harper’s widow, saying he would “do everything” possible to reduce her anguish and was “turning over every stone”.
The million-signature milestone transforms the campaign into a significant political test for the government. Burnham must now balance his commitment to relieving pressure on Britain’s prisons against growing demands that the punishment imposed on those convicted of killing a police officer should not be diluted by changes to release policy.
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