Overview
- The Ministry of Justice confirmed on Wednesday that Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, each sentenced to 13 years for PC Andrew Harper’s 2019 manslaughter, may be eligible for release at the halfway point of their terms under new rules.
- The early‑release provisions sit in the 2026 Sentencing Act and are due to start in September with officials estimating roughly 5,000–6,000 prisoners could benefit in the first months.
- Harper’s Law, which introduced mandatory life sentences for killing emergency workers, is not retrospective so it cannot lengthen existing terms; the driver Henry Long, who received a 16‑year minimum term, is not eligible for the scheme.
- Families, police federations and victims’ groups have strongly condemned the prospect of early release and called for carve‑outs for killers and serious sexual offenders after Conservative analysis suggested about 2,500 rape and child‑abuse convicts could be affected.
- Downing Street sources say the scheme remains scheduled for September even as the Prime Minister ordered a review, so ministers must decide quickly whether to pause implementation, add exemptions or accept the policy to relieve chronic prison overcrowding.