PC Andrew Harper’s mother says Downing Street call gives hope over killers’ possible release
The mother of PC Andrew Harper says a call from Downing Street has given her hope that the government may still block the early release
The mother of PC Andrew Harper says a call from Downing Street has given her hope that the government may still block the early release of the two men convicted over her son’s death. Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers could be freed next January under changes to the Sentencing Act brought in this year.
Debbie Adlam said she was told the prime minister wanted to do “everything he can” to find a way to prevent their release. But she said the strain of repeated uncertainty was wearing her down. “For me, it’s hope, but I can’t afford to be too hopeful,” she told BBC Breakfast.
A family still waiting
Adlam said she had spoken to a senior Downing Street official, after days of conflicting reports over what could happen to the pair. That back-and-forth, she said, had left her “in turmoil”.
She is not asking for a special exemption for her own family alone. Her demand is wider. She wants the killers of emergency workers to be excluded from the early release scheme altogether.
“This is really vital to get right,” she said, arguing the issue affects the country as a whole. “I’m not asking for a special case for my son, this is for emergency service workers.”
The case at the centre
Cole and Bowers were sentenced to 13 years for manslaughter in 2020. They fall into a category of prisoners convicted of certain serious violent or sexual offences who, until now, would have had to serve at least two-thirds of their sentence before becoming eligible for release.
Under the new sentencing changes, they would qualify for release after serving half their terms. That prospect has triggered alarm from Harper’s family and others who see the case as a test of how far the government is prepared to go.
PC Harper, 28, from Wallingford in Oxfordshire, died in 2019 after being dragged behind the getaway car of three teenagers who fled the scene of a quad bike theft in Berkshire. The case has remained raw for his family. Raw, and unresolved.
Pressure on the government
Downing Street had earlier said it would not be possible to exclude “one or two offenders” convicted of manslaughter from the early release plan, which is intended to ease prison overcrowding. But the prime minister has now asked the justice secretary to find a way to keep Harper’s killers in jail, and BBC reporting says he is confident a solution can be found.
The shift has raised hopes that the pair may yet be kept behind bars beyond January. It has also underlined a broader question now facing ministers: whether emergency workers should be treated differently under the new rules, or whether the scheme will apply across the board.
Adlam said the latest call offered a measure of comfort, even if only a small one. The wait continues. And January is not far off — the month when Cole and Bowers would become eligible for release.
