Conflict · UK prison scheme · ArchiefOutrage as PC Andrew Harper's Killers Face Early Release Under UK Prison SchemeGeschreven 7 september 2026 om 21:22 UTCKijkenTranscript0:00Good evening. A firestorm of outrage is0:02erupting tonight over a new government0:04policy that could set two convicted0:06police killers back on the streets.0:08Jesse Cole and Albert Bowers, two of the0:10three men convicted in the killing of0:11Thames Valley police officer PC Andrew0:13Harper, are now eligible for early0:15release after serving just half of their0:1713-year sentences. This scheme, part of0:20Labor's 2026 Sentencing Act, takes0:22effect this September and could free up0:24to 6,000 inmates. PC Harper was killed0:27on duty in 2019 while responding to a0:30burglary. He was dragged to his death0:31along a country road near Sulhamstead0:33when his body became entangled in a0:35strap attached to a vehicle driven by0:36the gang. Cole and Bowers were convicted0:39of manslaughter and each sentenced to 130:41years. Under this new scheme, they could0:43walk free after just 6 and 1/2 years.0:51The early release scheme covers0:53thousands of inmates across the UK0:55prison system, but there is one notable0:57exception. Henry Long, the driver of the1:00vehicle that killed PC Harper, received1:02a 16-year sentence and is explicitly1:05excluded from the program.1:13Behind the policy lies a brutal reality.1:15British prisons are running at 97%1:18capacity. The government has built just1:203,000 new places, nowhere near enough to1:22house the 6,000 inmates now eligible for1:24early release. Justice Secretary Alex1:26Norris is facing intense pressure to1:28justify the numbers to grieving1:29families. The backlash is landing1:31squarely on the desk of Prime Minister1:33Andy Burnham.1:34Downing Street tonight confirmed the PM1:36has ordered a review of the early1:38release policy. For PC Harper's family1:40and the police force that served1:42alongside him, that review may already1:44be too little, too late.1:50Thames Valley Police Chief Constable1:52Jason Hogg has written directly to the1:54Prime Minister, the Home Secretary, and1:56the Justice Secretary, calling the early1:58release plan simply wrong. And the2:00Police Federation of England and Wales2:02says officers across the country will be2:04utterly sickened by this decision.2:06Tonight, the government is promising a2:07review. For Lissie Harper and the family2:10of PC Andrew Harper, that review is a2:12test of whether Britain's overcrowded2:14prisons will be fixed on the backs of2:16victims' families or whether this time2:18the backlash will force a change of2:20course.Lees het artikelTijdlijn van het verhaalHeyDexDe korte video ↗
