Burnham has said it’s all on his Justice Secretary now when it comes to early release. He also failed to guarantee that PC Harper’s two killers won’t be released early: “What I have said is that I believe we can go much further, and I hope we can get to a position where people who have committed serious crimes are not in a position where they are being released early, and that would include the killers of PC Andrew Harper. That is my intention. I believe we can do it, but I n

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has been informed by officials that he cannot legally secure a specific exception to prevent the early release of Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, two of the men convicted of the manslaughter of PC Andrew Harper. The prime minister is reportedly opposed to their release under the government’s early release scheme, introduced to ease severe overcrowding in prisons across England and Wales. Cole and Bowers remain eligible despite a recent review that e

Justice Secretary Alex Norris has apologised to the family of PC Andrew Harper after the government confirmed that two of the men involved in the police officer’s 2019 killing remain eligible for early release under a revised scheme to ease prison overcrowding. PC Andrew Harper, 28, died in August 2019 after being dragged more than a mile along country roads in Berkshire. He had responded to reports of a stolen quad bike near Sulhamstead when his ankles became caught in a str