PM pledges to keep PC Andrew Harper's killers in prison
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has pledged that the killers of PC Andrew Harper will remain in prison despite the early release scheme.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has pledged to keep the killers of PC Andrew Harper in prison, despite the government's early release scheme designed to ease prison overcrowding. The two men, Albert Bowers and Jesse Cole, were convicted of manslaughter in 2020 for their role in the death of the 28-year-old officer in 2019. They were due to be released in January after serving half of their 13-year sentences, but a public outcry and pressure from the police and the victim's family have forced the Prime Minister to intervene.
Speaking on Wednesday, Mr Burnham said he had asked the Justice Secretary to present a plan to Parliament in early September that would prevent the early release of the most serious offenders, including those involved in PC Harper's killing. "I believe we can go much further and I hope we can get to a position where people who have committed the serious crimes are not in the position where they are being released early, and that would include the killers of PC Andrew Harper," he said. The Prime Minister acknowledged the difficulty of the task but insisted he was "increasingly confident" that a solution could be found.
The case has become a lightning rod for wider anger over the early release scheme, which was introduced to address chronic prison overcrowding. A petition against the release of Bowers and Cole has gathered more than 900,000 signatures. On Wednesday, 50 police chiefs, including the Metropolitan Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, signed an open letter urging the Prime Minister to use every lawful option to keep the two men behind bars. The letter said there was a "profound strength of feeling across policing" and warned that officers would question "what message this sends about the value placed on their service and sacrifice."
PC Harper's mother, Debbie, said she had been given hope by the Prime Minister's intervention but remained cautious. "It's just been up and down, it's just, you know, the rollercoaster of just hope, not even more than that, is really, really draining," she said. "But yeah, here we are, we've now got a little bit of hope that we didn't have before." She added that the fight was not over until the release was formally blocked.
The government is now exploring several options to free up prison space without releasing serious offenders early. These include deporting more foreign national prisoners, converting some women's prisons for male use, and reviewing the cases of prisoners serving indefinite sentences for public protection. However, former ministers and experts have warned that these measures are slow and difficult to implement. One former justice secretary said that deporting foreign prisoners requires individual deals with other countries and "is not going to deliver spaces in the autumn."
The Conservatives have accused the government of constant U-turns, saying the mixed messaging has re-traumatised victims and their families. "What we've seen over the last two weeks is an enormous amount of heartache and distress because one minute he's had his team briefing out that he can't do anything about it, then he's had them brief out that he can do something about it and then that's been withdrawn and pushed back and forth," a Conservative spokesperson said.
The case has also highlighted the broader impact of the early release scheme on other victims. The partner of Frankie Jules-Hough, who was killed by a dangerous driver while pregnant, told ITV News that he was "shocked and angry" that her killer could be released early. He said the justice system was "broken" and called for each case to be considered individually.
As the Prime Minister grapples with the difficult choices involved in governing, he has promised a plan by September. But with the prison system under severe strain and no easy solutions available, the question of who should be released early and who should stay behind bars remains deeply contentious. PC Harper's family say they are hopeful, but they have learned to be careful with that hope.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | Channel 5 | BBC News | BBC One | Channel 4 | GB News | ITV | Sky News |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albert Bowers and Jesse Cole, convicted of manslaughter of PC Andrew Harper, were eligible for early release under the government's prison overcrowding scheme. | · | ||||||
| The Prime Minister asked the Justice Secretary to find a way to keep the killers in jail. | · | · | |||||
| Police chiefs sent a letter to Prime Minister Andy Burnham urging him to block the early release of PC Harper's killers. | · | · | · | ||||
| The government is considering options including faster removal of foreign offenders and using female prison estate for male offenders to create space. | · | · | · | ||||
| Last week, rapists and child sex offenders were barred from early release. | · | · | · | · | |||
| The government was accused of inconsistency and U-turns over the early release of PC Harper's killers. | · | · | · | · | |||
| Probation officers voted in favour of potential strike action over early release. | · | · | · | · | · | ||
| The government is considering options to block early release for a category of prisoners, such as those serving longer manslaughter sentences. | · | · | · | · | · | ||
| A petition against the men's release reached over 900,000 signatures. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Excluding all manslaughter cases from early release might keep too many inmates in prison. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| PC Harper's mother argued that the sentence is being changed retrospectively. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| The government is cutting some prison sentences to relieve chronic overcrowding. | · | · | · | · | · | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
5 News focused on the political intervention by the Prime Minister, with analysis from its political editor. It highlighted the shift in messaging from Downing Street and the practical challenges of finding prison spaces. The tone was factual but emphasised the political stakes for the new PM.
- “I believe we can go much further and I hope we can get to a position where people who have committed the serious crimes are not in the position where they are being released early, and that would include the killers of PC Andrew Harper.”
- “Please don't let us down, really. You have shown that you really want to make a difference.”
- “It looks like the government has decided the way forward is to increase prison capacity and is looking at removing more foreign prisoners, using space in women's prisons and freeing people serving what are called indeterminate sentences.”
BBC ONE West focused on the emotional impact on PC Harper's family and the criticism from the Conservatives over U-turns. It also reported the letter from 50 police chiefs, giving weight to the institutional pressure on the Prime Minister. The tone was measured and sympathetic to the family's ordeal.
- “It's just been up and down, it's just, you know, the rollercoaster of just hope, not even more than that, you know, is really, really draining.”
- “What we've seen over the last two weeks is an enormous amount of heartache and distress because one minute he's had his team briefing out that he can't do anything about it, then he's had them brief out that he can do something about it and then that's been withdrawn and pushed back and forth and back and forth and that is not the way to make decisions.”
- “Tonight, 50 police chiefs have written to Andy Burnham, urging him to prevent the early release of PC Harper's killers.”
ITV1 provided extensive coverage across its bulletins, focusing on the practical options being considered by the government and the wider implications for other victims, such as the case of Frankie Jules-Hough. It also highlighted the police chiefs' letter and the Prime Minister's confidence, while noting the emotional turmoil for families.
- “I have asked the Justice Secretary to bring a plan back to Parliament in the next three weeks, and we will lay out very clearly our approach at that point, but I'm increasingly confident that we can bring forward a plan that will achieve that objective.”
- “I think I'm more angry than ever.”
- “Everybody involved in this, especially the family, are in emotional turmoil with these changes. So as much as I want to be supportive, and I am supportive of the change that he is trying to make, I just need to see it happen.”
Channel 4 framed the story as a political trap for the Prime Minister, caught between doing what is right and what is necessary. It gave a platform to PC Harper's mother, Debbie, and explored the emotional toll on the family. The analysis highlighted the difficulty of the choices and the mixed messaging from the government.
- “It's kept me awake at night sometimes because I don't know how I'm going to manage my feelings of knowing that they're out living their life and Andrew's not.”
- “I've not accepted it's impossible to do more. I believe there is more that can be done.”
- “It gives me hope. I've just found myself in a place where my reassurance I don't trust fully, because I've been round in circles.”
GB News took a strongly critical stance, focusing on the political fallout and the unprecedented unity of police chiefs against the Prime Minister. It also highlighted the potential strike by probation staff and the legal constraints of the Sentencing Act 2026. The tone was confrontational and emphasised the government's failure to get ahead of the issue.
- “So just please don't let us down again because we are pinning our hopes on this happening.”
- “This is an unprecedented letter from every police chief in the UK that has demanded that Andy Burnham do everything possible to stop the early release of PC Andrew Harper's killers.”
- “But he hasn't got ahead of any of the key issues. So he hasn't got ahead of the massive boat crisis. And he hasn't got ahead of the early release crisis.”
Sky News concentrated on the police chiefs' open letter and the reaction of PC Harper's mother, giving a voice to her frustration about retrospective changes to sentences. The coverage was straightforward, emphasising the institutional and familial pressure on the Prime Minister.
- “There is a profound strength of feeling across policing about those responsible for PC Andrew Harper's death benefiting from arrangements that could see them released substantially earlier than expected.”
- “I think that the issue here is really, you know, we're hearing things like you can't do things retrospectively, but that to me is exactly what's happening.”
- “I would imagine, it might sound like a weird thing to say, but to actually have got to the point where they're releasing them early must have actually been quite tricky as well.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.