Police representatives have threatened legal action over the Government’s refusal to exclude two men convicted of the manslaughter of PC Andrew Harper from its revised prisoner-release arrangements.
Sentencing Minister Jake Richards defended the position during an appearance on BBC Breakfast on Wednesday, acknowledging the pain caused to PC Harper’s family and policing colleagues but arguing that ministers must prevent the prison system from running out of capacity.
Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, who were each sentenced to 13 years for manslaughter, remain eligible to reach their automatic release point earlier under the changes. They have not yet been released, and any precise release date remains subject to the applicable rules and sentence calculations.
Police Federation considers court action
Aileen O’Connor, chair of the Thames Valley Police Federation, has said the organisation is prepared to pursue legal action if the Government does not change course.
Chief Constable Jason Hogg is also reported to be considering whether Thames Valley Police could support or join a challenge. No court proceedings or detailed legal grounds had been published at the time of writing, meaning the proposed action remains a threat rather than a filed case.
The intervention represents a significant escalation. Opposition to the decision has already come from PC Harper’s widow Lissie Harper, his mother Debbie Adlam, Thames Valley Police, the local Police and Crime Commissioner and opposition politicians. The possibility of a court challenge now places additional institutional pressure on ministers.
Richards defends Government position
Richards said the Government recognised the distress felt by PC Harper’s family and by police officers, but maintained that a functioning criminal justice system depends upon prisons retaining enough space to receive newly sentenced offenders.
Ministers argue that allowing the estate to reach absolute capacity could leave police unable to make arrests and courts unable to send offenders to prison. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he pushed the revised exclusions as far as he believed possible without creating that risk.
The Government has agreed to use emergency legislation to prevent people sentenced for rape, serious child sexual offences and specified grooming offences from benefiting from the new arrangements. Manslaughter has not been excluded as a category.
That distinction lies at the centre of the latest dispute. Police representatives and PC Harper’s family argue that the killing of an emergency worker should receive comparable protection, particularly because the law now treats such cases more severely.
Why Harper’s Law cannot be applied retrospectively
PC Harper was killed on 15 August 2019 after responding to the theft of a quad bike in Berkshire. He became caught in a strap and was dragged behind the offenders’ vehicle.
Bowers and Cole were convicted of manslaughter in 2020. Henry Long, who drove the vehicle, had admitted manslaughter and received a 16-year sentence. Long is not expected to benefit from the disputed change affecting Bowers and Cole.
Lissie Harper’s subsequent campaign led to Harper’s Law, which provides mandatory life sentences in qualifying cases where an emergency worker is killed in the course of duty during another crime.
Richards pointed out that Harper’s Law cannot retrospectively replace the sentences imposed in 2020. That explains why Bowers and Cole cannot simply be resentenced under the later legislation, but it does not end the separate argument over whether Parliament could exclude their existing sentences from the new release provisions.
PCC seeks parliamentary amendment
Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber has said he will promote an amendment when the Commons returns from its summer recess.
Barber welcomed the decision to exclude additional sexual offences but said it was unacceptable that the case which helped force the Government’s review remained outside the changes.
‘Andrew’s family are understandably disgusted that the case which made the Prime Minister think again is not going to be covered by these changes.’
He said he would seek an amendment specifically intended to exclude Bowers and Cole from the early-release scheme.
That parliamentary route is distinct from the threatened legal challenge. MPs can attempt to change the legislation, while any court case would need an arguable legal basis for challenging the Government’s decision or implementation of the scheme.
Chief Constable warns of damage to confidence
Hogg has already issued an unusually direct condemnation of the Government’s position.
‘I am beyond disappointed the Government is continuing to allow PC Andrew Harper’s killers to be released early from prison despite the overwhelming recent public outcry.’
He said the decision was demoralising for police officers and other emergency-service workers who put themselves in danger to protect the public.
The chief constable has emphasised that, had the same qualifying offence been committed and sentenced today, Harper’s Law would require life sentences and the men would not be eligible for the disputed automatic release arrangements.
Pressure continues despite Burnham review
Burnham’s review removed around 1,000 prisoners from the expected scope of the changes, but it has failed to resolve the most politically prominent manslaughter case affected by them.
For the Government, the argument is about avoiding a prison-capacity emergency while making the widest exclusions it considers operationally possible. For PC Harper’s family and policing representatives, allowing Bowers and Cole to benefit undermines both the sentences imposed by the court and the principle subsequently recognised by Harper’s Law.
The next stages will be whether the Police Federation converts its warning into formal proceedings, whether Thames Valley Police joins any action, and whether Barber succeeds in securing a parliamentary vote on an amendment.
This article follows our earlier reports on Lissie Harper’s accusation of betrayal and Andy Burnham’s defence of the revised scheme.