Andy Burnham Breaks Silence on PC Andrew Harper’s Killers With Major Announcement
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has broken his silence over the controversial prospect of early release for two of the men convicted over the death of PC Andrew Harper, saying he is increasingly confident that the government can find a lawful way to keep them behind bars.
The intervention comes after days of mounting pressure from PC Harper’s family, police leaders and members of the public, with a petition calling for the killers to remain in prison passing one million signatures.
Burnham has now instructed Justice Secretary Alex Norris to examine further options for preventing the early release of Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, who were sentenced to 13 years in prison for manslaughter following the 2019 killing.
The Prime Minister said he understood the strength of public feeling and shared concerns about the possibility of their release. He has also asked ministers to find additional ways of creating prison capacity, potentially reducing the number of prisoners who would otherwise need to be released early.
The announcement represents a significant change in tone for Burnham.
Only days earlier, Downing Street had indicated that there was no straightforward way to exclude individual prisoners from the government’s emergency early-release arrangements. The difficulty arises because manslaughter is not a separate offence specifically covered by the exemptions introduced for some other serious crimes.
Now, however, the government is searching for another route.
The case that shocked Britain
PC Andrew Harper was killed in August 2019 while responding to a burglary near Sulhamstead in Berkshire.
The 28-year-old Thames Valley Police officer was attempting to stop a group involved in the theft of a quad bike when he became caught behind their vehicle. He was dragged for approximately a mile and suffered fatal injuries.
The circumstances of his death caused widespread shock and prompted a national debate about the protection of emergency workers.
Three teenagers were eventually convicted of manslaughter. Henry Long received a longer sentence, while Cole and Bowers were each sentenced to 13 years.
The prosecution had alleged that the men were responsible for Harper’s death during their attempt to escape. The defendants were acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter.
The case subsequently contributed to the introduction of Harper’s Law, which created a mandatory life sentence for people convicted of killing emergency workers while committing a crime.
The legislation was named in honour of the officer and was intended to send a clear message about the seriousness of attacks on police officers, firefighters, paramedics and other emergency personnel.
Seven years after Harper’s death, however, his family has once again found itself at the centre of a national debate about sentencing.
Why could the killers be released early?
The immediate controversy stems from the government’s attempt to tackle severe overcrowding across the prison estate.
Prisons in England and Wales are operating under intense pressure, with ministers seeking additional capacity while avoiding a situation in which the system runs out of available cells.
The emergency arrangements would allow thousands of prisoners to be released earlier than they otherwise would have been.
Cole and Bowers are among those potentially affected.
Their release has generated particular outrage because of the circumstances of Harper’s death and because both men received substantial prison sentences.
The government has already announced exemptions for certain categories of offenders, including people convicted of rape, serious child sexual offences and grooming offences.
However, manslaughter has not been automatically included.
That distinction has created a politically explosive situation.
The government can argue that it cannot simply change the rules for two named prisoners without creating wider legal and constitutional problems. Critics respond that the circumstances of Harper’s death are so serious that ministers should find a way to prevent the men responsible from benefiting from the early-release arrangements.
Burnham changes course
Burnham’s latest intervention suggests that he accepts the political and moral force of that argument.
Writing on social media, the Prime Minister said he understood the depth of public concern about the potential early release of those involved in Harper’s killing.
He also said that he had instructed Norris to work rapidly on measures that could increase the number of available prison places.
The objective is straightforward: if the prison estate can accommodate more people, the government may not need to release as many prisoners early.
That could provide a route to keeping Cole and Bowers in custody without creating a special legal exemption for them.
Burnham has also indicated that he wants to explore a broader package of measures, including deporting foreign national prisoners more quickly, reviewing the position of prisoners serving controversial indeterminate sentences and making better use of existing prison buildings.
The government is also considering whether parts of the prison estate currently used for women could be adapted to accommodate male prisoners.
These measures would not solve the capacity problem overnight, but ministers believe they could create additional space and reduce pressure on the early-release programme.
Police chiefs pile pressure on No 10
The Prime Minister’s decision has been welcomed by many police leaders, but pressure remains intense.
Fifty police and law-enforcement leaders signed an open letter calling on Burnham to use every lawful option to prevent the early release of Harper’s killers.
The letter argued that officers who are asked to run towards danger on behalf of the public must be able to trust that the justice system will stand behind them when the worst happens.
The intervention is politically significant because it demonstrates that opposition to the potential release is not limited to Harper’s family or sections of the public.
Senior figures within policing are also concerned about the effect that releasing serious offenders could have on morale and public confidence.
The issue has become particularly sensitive because police officers themselves are expected to enforce the law while facing increasingly difficult pressures.
If a serving officer is killed in the line of duty and those responsible are subsequently released significantly earlier than expected, critics fear it could send the wrong message to the wider policing community.
Harper’s family demands action
For Harper’s family, the issue is intensely personal.
His mother, Debbie Adlam, has publicly urged Burnham not to let the family down again after the government initially appeared unable to prevent the release.
Harper’s widow, Lissie, has also opposed the prospect of the killers being released early.
The family has been forced to revisit the circumstances of Andrew’s death years after the original trial, as the prison policy has brought the question of the killers’ sentences back into the national spotlight.
The petition opposing their early release passing one million signatures underlines the extraordinary level of public interest in the case.
The petition has become a powerful symbol of public anger, with supporters arguing that a person convicted over the death of an emergency worker should not benefit from a policy designed primarily to address prison overcrowding.
The legal problem facing Burnham
Despite the political pressure, Burnham faces a difficult legal problem.
Officials have warned that simply creating a special exemption for Cole and Bowers could have consequences for other prisoners convicted of manslaughter.
There are potentially many different circumstances in manslaughter cases, ranging from fatal incidents involving reckless behaviour to cases that bear similarities to murder.
That makes it difficult to create a narrowly targeted legal category without affecting a much larger group of prisoners.
Prison Service officials have reportedly warned that excluding manslaughter offenders could lead to further pressure on the prison estate and potentially require additional early releases in the future.
The government therefore has to solve two problems at once.
First, it must find a lawful mechanism for keeping Harper’s killers in prison.
Second, it must ensure that the solution does not simply transfer the overcrowding crisis elsewhere in the system.
A test for Burnham’s leadership
The controversy is quickly becoming one of the first major tests of Burnham’s premiership.
The Prime Minister came to office promising decisive government and a stronger focus on public safety and the concerns of ordinary voters.
His handling of the Harper case will therefore be closely watched.
Supporters will argue that Burnham’s willingness to reconsider the policy demonstrates that he is listening to the public and prepared to change course when a serious problem becomes apparent.
Critics, however, may portray the episode as evidence that the government acted before fully considering the consequences of its prison reforms.
The pressure is particularly intense because the original early-release scheme was introduced as part of an urgent response to prison overcrowding.
Simply abandoning it without a credible alternative could create a different crisis.
What happens next?
The immediate focus will be on the proposals being developed by Norris and the Justice Department.
Burnham has said he wants to create more prison capacity and reduce the number of prisoners who need to be released early.
The government is also expected to seek cross-party support for changes to the system, with ministers keen to demonstrate that the issue is being treated as a matter of national importance rather than party politics.
Meanwhile, police organisations and Harper’s family will continue to press for a firm commitment that Cole and Bowers will remain behind bars.
The government’s previous decision to exempt certain serious sexual offenders has already demonstrated that the rules can be changed.
The question now is whether ministers can construct a legally robust mechanism that also covers the specific circumstances of Harper’s killers.
A defining moment
The case has placed Andy Burnham in an uncomfortable position only weeks into his premiership.
He must balance the immediate need to prevent prison overcrowding with the public’s expectation that serious offenders should serve meaningful sentences.
He must also demonstrate that any changes are legally sound and do not undermine the wider criminal justice system.
For PC Andrew Harper’s family, however, the argument is much simpler.
Their concern is that the men convicted over his death should not walk free earlier than expected because of a prison-capacity crisis that they did not create.
Burnham now says he is increasingly confident that there is a way forward.
That promise will be tested by what the government actually delivers.
With a million people now backing the campaign to keep Harper’s killers behind bars and 50 police chiefs publicly demanding action, the political pressure on Downing Street is immense.
The Prime Minister has made his position clear: he does not want the killers of PC Andrew Harper released early.
His next challenge is to turn that declaration into a lawful and workable policy.
For Burnham, and for the Harper family, the outcome could become one of the most consequential decisions of his first months in office.