PC Harper's killers 'are set for an early release under Labour's plans to tackle prison overcrowding'

By PATRICK HARRINGTON, UK NEWS REPORTER Published: 00:01, 22 July 2026 | Updated: 00:04, 22 July 2026 Two men who killed PC Andrew Harper by dragging him behind a car for more than a mile are set for early release under Labour's plan to tackle prison overcrowding. Albert Bowes and Jessie Cole, jailed for 13 years in 2020 for Harper's manslaughter, will be eligible to walk free after serving just half their sentences under the government's early release scheme. The pair, both 17 at the time, were passengers in the car that dragged Harper along the tarmac after his ankles got caught in their towrope. The police officer, who was 28, encountered the group near Sulhamstead, Berkshire, in August 2019 while investigating the theft of a quadbike. When they tried to escape in a car driven by the third killer, Henry Long, they accidentally ensnared PC Harper, pulling him down the road and inflicting fatal injuries. Long is not eligible for early release. PC Harper was dragged at 42mph, tearing nearly all of his uniform off. By the time he came free, his body was so battered that one of the people who found it thought he was a deer carcass. Debbie Adlam, the PC's mother, has now been told by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) that her son's killers' sentences may be reduced. The letter admitted the news 'may be difficult' given 'the lasting impact the offence may have had on you'. PC Andrew Harper was killed when he was dragged over a mile behind a car along country roads Jessie Cole, left, and Albert Bowers, right, were both sentenced to 13 years for manslaughter but will be eligible for release after serving half their sentences PC Harper and his wife Lissie got married just a month before he was killed, in July 2019 Ms Adlam said the update was an 'insult beyond anything able to be put into words'. She told The Telegraph: 'It makes me feel sick. Andrew's life doesn't get to come back. It feels like a slap in the face and an insult. 'People are getting a free pass for crime in this country. I like to try to be proud of my country, but this isn't something to be proud of. There's a lot going wrong.' It is unclear exactly when Bowes and Cole will become eligible for release, but it is understood it could be by the end of the year. The pair are among thousands of criminals set to benefit from Labour's Sentencing Act, part of a long-term plan to reduce the prison population. From September, it will allow violent and sexual offenders to be released after serving just half their sentence, rather than the current two-thirds. Other offenders could be freed after serving just a third of the punishment imposed by a court if they demonstrate good behaviour while in jail. Murderers will not be considered because they are given a mandatory life term, with a minimum number of years they must serve. Long is not eligible for early release under the scheme, but will be able to seek parole after half his sentence. Lissie's campaigning led to the passing of Harper's law, which introduced a mandatory life sentence for anyone who kills and emergency worker while committing a crime Deborah Adlam holding a photograph of her late son The sentences given to Harper's killers sparked a national outcry for being too lenient in the first place - and their reduction will now fuel fresh demands for Andy Burnham's new government to rethink the early release scheme. A campaign after sentencing led to the passing of 'Harper's Law', which introduced a mandatory life sentence for anyone convicted of killing emergency workers while committing a crime. The officer's widow, Lissie Harper, spearheaded the push to change the law, and was supported by Labour at the time. She received an MBE for her work. Ellie Reeves, now the Attorney General, told MPs in 2022: 'It is right that emergency service workers who put themselves at risk to keep the rest of us safe are protected by the strongest shield that the criminal justice system can provide.' An MoJ spokesperson said: 'This was a horrific crime, and our deepest sympathies are with PC Andrew Harper’s family and friends. 'In 2024, the country was facing a prison crisis and a total breakdown of law and order, with judges ordered to stop jailing dangerous criminals.  'This government is committed to public safety: we are building prison places at the fastest rate since the Victorian era, and taking the difficult decisions needed to lock up the most dangerous offenders.' Mrs Harper's ordeal was made worse when, the year after her husband's death, the then head of the Police Federation made a lewd remark about her. John Apter, 57, presented Lissie with a posthumous bravery award on behalf of her late husband. The pair had married just a month before PC Harper was killed. At the ceremony, Apter remarked to colleagues of Mrs Harper: 'I'd like to comfort her in my hotel room.' Apter retired before the conclusion of disciplinary proceedings against him, but was told that he would have been dismissed without notice, were he still a serving officer. A tribunal found that his comments amounted to gross misconduct, and his name was added to the College of Policing's list of barred officers for at least five years. Mrs Harper described Apter's comments about her as 'highly inappropriate'.  Apter was cleared of two further charges of gross misconduct following allegations that he had groped a female constable and made sexually inappropriate comments to a third woman.