Prime Minister Andy Burnham Vows to Block Early Release of PC Andrew Harper's Killers

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has stated he is increasingly confident that the killers of Police Constable Andrew Harper will not be granted early release. The announcement follows a public outcry over an emergency plan to ease prison overcrowding in England and Wales by releasing approximately 5,000 prisoners early. Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, who were sentenced to 13 years for the 2019 manslaughter of the 28 year old officer, were due to be freed in January under the new scheme. While exemptions were already made for those convicted of rape and serious child sexual abuse, manslaughter was not initially included.

To prevent the release of these offenders, Burnham has instructed Justice Secretary Alex Norris to rapidly implement measures to increase prison capacity. Proposed strategies include removing foreign offenders more quickly, releasing lower risk prisoners on indeterminate sentences, and utilizing the female prison estate for male offenders. Downing Street previously stated that it was not feasible to exempt only a handful of prisoners, suggesting that a broader category of serious offenders may need to be excluded from the early release plan.

Prison Service officials have warned that expanding exemptions to include manslaughter convictions could necessitate further early releases of other prisoners within 18 months. The case has drawn significant public attention, with a petition demanding intervention gathering nearly 900,000 signatures. The prime minister stated that he shares the public concern and the anguish of the victim's family, asserting that it is his duty to minimize the possibility of these offenders serving less than their full sentence.