Thames Valley Police leaders write to Government as pressure grows over potential early release of Andrew Harper killers
Thames Valley Police leaders have written to the Government as pressure grows over the potential early release of the killers of PC Andrew Harper.
PC Harper, 28, from Wallingford in Oxfordshire, died from his injuries in 2019 when he got caught in a tow rope attached to a vehicle, and was dragged behind the getaway car of three teenagers who had fled the scene of a quadbike theft.
Two of PC Harper’s killers - Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers - are eligible for early release in 2027, as part of a Government scheme to address overcrowding issues at prisons across the country.
The new Sentencing Act was passed in January but has since been halted by new Prime Minister Andy Burnham in response to concerns as to which offenders are eligible for early release.
Last week the Prime Minister confirmed that rapists, child sexual abusers and groomers were not eligible for early release but said that domestic abusers and killers could be released after serving half of their sentences.
A petition to block the possible early release from jail of PC Harper’s killers, which was started last week by the chair of the Thames Valley Police Federation Aileen O’Connor, has now attracted 881,204 signatures.
In the petition Ms O’Connor described the news that PC Harper’s killers could be freed early as ‘outrageous.’
She has now written to Prime Minister Andy Burnham jointly alongside Thames Valley Police’s Chief Constable Jason Hogg and Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber calling for an amendment to the Sentencing Act.
They argue that the act should be amended so individuals serving a sentence for manslaughter, where the victim was an emergency worker who died while on duty, should be excluded from the early release scheme.
Commissioner Barber, who spoke about the issue on the BBC’s Newsnight programme last week said: “The strength of public feeling about the sense of injustice for Andrew’s family, friends and colleagues is clear.
“The Government can make this change. They have already confirmed they will create nuance in the legislation to keep individuals involved in grooming gang offences in prison.
“If they can do so for those offenders, then they can do so for those involved in the death of an emergency service worker.
“I understand the pressures on prison capacity, but this amendment will affect a small number of individuals and will show police officers who put themselves in harm’s way every day that the Government and politicians are on their side.
“There is no other acceptable outcome than Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole serving their full sentence behind bars.”
The issue was also discussed during the latest edition of BBC Radio Four’s Any Questions? programme, which was broadcast live from the Open University in Milton Keynes on Friday evening.
Responding to a question given by Iconic Media Group reporter Neil Shefferd during the programme, Labour Member of Parliament Hamish Falconer said he would not sign the petition adding: “The Government had to make difficult choices because when we came into power there was no space in prisons.
“I know Andy Burnham and the Justice Minister would like to include manslaughter {as a category not eligible for early release} but it is not possible.”
Reform MP Andrew Rosindell described the potential early release of PC Harper’s killers as ‘outrageous’, and said he ‘did not buy the argument there is no room in prisons.’
Conservative peer Lord David Willetts said ‘the advice given to Ministers is that some extra capacity in prisons is always needed’, before adding ‘I did not understand why people who kill an emergency worker are not included’ {in the category of mandatory life sentences.}
Liberal Democrat MP Munira Wilson said she would sign the petition and added she agreed that the manslaughter of emergency workers, should be included in the category for mandatory life sentences.