Burnham can't block release of PC Harper killers 'without facing major legal challenge or keeping hundreds more prisoners in overcrowded jails'

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 04:06 EDT, 10 August 2026 | Updated: 04:30 EDT, 10 August 2026 Andy Burnham has been forced to abandon a plan to block the early release of PC Andrew Harper's killers after being told it would spark a massive legal challenge. The Prime Minister is said to have been examining whether to exempt people who kill emergency service personnel from a controversial scheme to free up space in massively overcrowded prisons.It comes amid fury that Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, who were jailed for manslaughter over the 2019 death of PC Harper, would be eligible for early release after serving half their sentences.But the PM has reportedly been forced to abandon the proposal after being told it was a 'non-starter' that would leave the government open to legal claims it would almost certainly lose because manslaughter of an emergency worker is not a specific offence.It means the only way to stop them from being freed may be to block the release of all prisoners convicted of manslaughter, which would mean keeping almost 1,000 eligible for early release incarcerated.But last week Mr Burnham said he had been 'pushed to the very limits of what is possible to do without risking the prison system reaching capacity and collapsing' by already excluding 1,000 prisoners sentenced for 'rape, serious child sex offences and other grooming offences' from eligibility. PC Harper was 28 when he was killed in August 2019 after responding to reports of a stolen quad bike in Berkshire Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, who were jailed for his manslaughter, would be eligible for early release this year after serving half their 13-year sentencesPC Harper was 28 when he was killed in August 2019 after responding to reports of a stolen quad bike in Berkshire. He suffered horrific injuries after getting caught in a strap attached to a getaway car driven by Henry Long, who was jailed for 16 years. His accomplices Cole and Bowers, who were pictured laughing during their trial, were both sentenced in 2020 to 13 years for manslaughter. Some 5,000 other criminals are expected to be released early under sentencing changes from October over a period of 10 months - a figure already reduced from 6,000 after the exemptions for rapists, child sex offenders and groomers after an urgent review of the scheme. More than 850,000 people have signed a petition calling for Cole and Bowers to remain in jail, with a Government source telling The Daily Telegraph on Friday the Prime Minister is prepared to 'explore every option' to block their early release.But according to The Times civil servants quashed the plan to block their release, with a source saying: 'It's impossible, there is no way to make an exception for them without extending it to everyone convicted of manslaughter.'