‘It’s Justice for Harps,’ say tragic PC Andrew Harper’s family & colleagues after Burnham’s early prison release U-turn

PC ANDREW Harper’s family and colleagues have expressed relief after the Government U-turned on early prison release, saying: “It’s justice for Harps.” PM Andy Burnham bowed to a million-strong petition backed by The Sun and said that anyone convicted of unlawful killing will be exempt from the scheme. The mother of PC Andrew Harper, Debbie Adlam, welcomed the Government’s U-turn on early prison release — but added that dithering on the decision had put their family “through the mill”. The announcement followed a petition — promoted by The Sun — signed by more than one million people to block their freedom. Petition organiser Aileen O’Connor, chair of the Thames Valley Police Federation branch, said: “We are delighted the Government finally listened and a measure of justice for Harps can now be delivered.” Two of the teenage travellers who killed PC Harper — Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers — had been due to be freed within months under original proposals of the Sentencing Act to relieve prison overcrowding. The pair were aged 17 and passengers in a Seat Toledo with a trailing tow rope which caught the 28-year-old PC’s ankles in August 2019 after the gang tried to steal a quad bike. READ MORE ON PC HARPER Newlywed PC Harper, due to go on honeymoon after his late shift, was dragged more than a mile down a lane in Sulhamstead, Berks. Cole and Bowers were jailed for 13 years each at the Old Bailey the following year after being convicted of manslaughter. Driver Henry Long, 18 at the time, got 16 years after admitting the same offence at a trial during which the trio laughed and joked. Long was acquitted of murder after telling jurors he had loud music on in his car and could not hear the officer. Most read in The Sun Uproar broke out when news of the imminent release of Cole and Bowers was revealed last month. The PC’s mum Debbie commented at the time: “It just feels like another letdown for Andrew, when you look at the way he was killed.” PC Harper’s widow Lissie Harper described it as “a punch in the gut.” Lissie, 34, who campaigned for Harper’s Law ensuring mandatory life sentences for anyone convicted of killing an emergency worker, told the PM: “You should be ashamed.” And 50 police chiefs. including Met boss Sir Mark Rowley, signed a letter urging the Government to reconsider its proposals. Mr Burnham initially resisted changes to the plans but paused the scheme following the backlash. Announcing the U-turn on planned tariff cuts for killers yesterday, the PM told the BBC: “I heard, obviously, what Andrew Harper’s family were saying, I mean, who couldn’t? “Nobody would want a position to arise where those guilty of killing a police officer are let out early from prison.” The pair will now serve two-thirds of their tariff before they are eligible for parole. As well those convicted of manslaughter and murder, early release will not apply to people convicted of rape, child sex offences and grooming, indecent assault and causing death by dangerous driving Mother Debbie said the past two months had been “traumatic” and added: “Of course, I’m grateful. I’m glad that we don’t have to go through any more of this now, and you know, they’ll get to serve what they were actually supposed to be serving.” But she said: “It’s a really mixed bag of emotions because on the one hand we are glad, but we’ve been brought through the mill, and we are only back at where we were to start with. “You know, go back a few months, this is where we were – so we’re not making any headway or anything. We’re just literally fighting to get back to where we were.” Debbie told BBC Breakfast she worried “immensely” for others without the same outcome as them, adding that “the overall system has left some huge gaps still”. She expressed hope the PM would deliver on a pledge for a further overhaul of the justice system over the next few years. Meanwhile, the number who have signed the petition calling for early freedom to be blocked for PC Harper’s killers stood at 1,071,640. Thames Valley Police Fed chair Ms O’Connor said they should never have been considered for early release, adding: “It remains shocking that they were.”