EVERY single police chief in the UK has signed a letter urging PM Andy Burnham to use “every lawful option” to keep the killers of PC Andrew Harper behind bars.
In an historic move, 50 top police officers representing every force in the UK have united to condemn Labour’s justice reforms.
PC Andrew Harper’s widow says she is ‘disgusted’ his killers are going to be freed Credit: PA
Andy Burnham has been urged to keep the killers of PC Harper behind bars Credit: AFP
Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole were jailed for 13 years in 2020 for the manslaughter of 28-year-old officer Harper.
The government previously claimed it would reportedly face legal challenges if it tried to block the release of Bowers and Cole halfway through their jail terms – a move which sparked outrage across the nation.
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Now, top cops across the nation are demanding the Prime Minister abandon plans to grant early freedom to Cole, Bowers and thousands of other dangerous convicts.
The intervention came in an extraordinary joint missive published by the National Police Chiefs’ Council.
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Signatories include the heads of 48 UK regional forces, alongside leaders from the National Crime Agency and Jersey Police.
Together, they delivered a scathing rebuke of the Government’s proposed custodial reforms.
Police leaders warned the policy directly endangers the public, damages victim confidence, and erodes trust across the entire justice sector.
They are pressing Mr Burnham to exhaust “every lawful option” to keep the duo behind bars.
Albert Bowers, who was jailed for manslaughter, is set to get early release Credit: PA
Jessie Cole, also jailed for manslaughter, will get early release too Credit: PA
The letter explicitly framed the early release policy as a betrayal of the legislation forged in the slain officer’s honor.
PC Harper’s widow, Lissie, has campaigned tirelessly for Harper’s Law following national outrage over the sentences handed to her husband’s killers.
The landmark law mandated life sentences for anyone who slays an emergency worker in the line of duty.
Chiefs voiced deep alarm over the erosion of judicial authority, questioning how families can trust the courts when sentences are drastically cut after the fact.
The letter added: “We do not suggest that the grief of a police family is greater than that of any other bereaved family, nor that the life of an emergency worker has greater value.”
Chief constables fear that the early release scheme will endanger the public, warning: “This is not simply a question of punishment. It is a question of ensuring that public protection, victim confidence and community safety remain central to decisions that may substantially reduce the time an offender spends in custody.’
Now they want release decisions to consider “the impact that significant changes to release policy may have on victims, public protection, policing and confidence in the justice system”.
The missive cautioned that freeing the killers sends a damaging message to serving personnel who “will question what message this sends about the value placed on their service and sacrifice when they put themselves in harm’s way to protect others”.
PC Andrew Harper was just 28-years-old when he was killed Credit: PA
A car dragged Andrew to his death when his ankles were caught in a towrope back in 2019 Credit: PA
Concluding their plea, the chiefs wrote: “We make this request in memory of PC Andrew Harper, in support of his family, friends, colleagues and the communities he served and on behalf of all victims of serious offending.
“The public should be able to trust that when a court passes sentence for the most serious crimes, victims, public protection and confidence in the justice system remain at the heart of any subsequent decisions about release.”
Newly-married PC Harper died after getting caught up in a strap attached to the rear of a car.
He was dragged more than a mile as the killers fled the scene of a quad bike theft in Sulhamstead, Berks, in 2019.
Bowers and Cole, both 17 at the time of the crime, got 13 years in 2020 after being convicted of manslaughter and remain eligible to be freed in January, just halfway through their sentences.
Hopes were raised for PC Harper’s family when the PM ordered a review of the scheme.
Changes were made including preventing rapists and paedophiles from being let out early — but not include those convicted of manslaughter like Bowers and Cole.
However, government spokesperson said on Monday night that the new PM has been pushing to exempt the duo from the early release scheme.
Andy Burnham reportedly asked Justice Secretary Alex Norris to find a way to keep the pair locked up.
The PM has said he does not want any lags let out early and has asked for three areas to be examined with a view to this aim.
He wants to increase the rate at which foreign criminals are sent back to their country of origin.
He is also looking to fix the dispute over Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences — abolished in 2012 — under which more than 2,300 people are indefinitely detained or trapped in a cycle of lifelong recall, and the release of lower-risk offenders.
