LISSIE HARPER REFUSES TO GIVE UP AS HER PETITION EXPLODES PAST HALF A MILLION SIGNATURES WHILE ONE GOVERNMENT DECISION CONTINUES TO STUN BRITAIN The widow of PC Andrew Harper says she will keep fighting after hundreds of thousands joined her campaign to stop the early release of two of her husband’s k̸i̸l̸l̸e̸r̸s̸, insisting justice is slipping further out of reach. As pressure intensifies from every direction, the next stage of this battle could force an outcome few expected.

The widow of Police Constable Andrew Harper has renewed her campaign against the planned early release of two of the men convicted over her husband’s death, saying she hopes growing public support will persuade the Government to reconsider its position.

Lissie Harper said she “will not give up” as a petition calling for Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole to be excluded from the Government’s early prisoner release scheme continued to attract hundreds of thousands of signatures.

The renewed appeal comes after ministers confirmed that, despite recent revisions to the policy, offenders convicted of manslaughter remain eligible for earlier release under measures designed to ease pressure on England and Wales’ overcrowded prison system.

The decision has prompted criticism from police representatives, politicians and members of the Harper family, while the Government has maintained that expanding the list of excluded offenders further would risk exhausting available prison capacity.

PC Andrew Harper, a Thames Valley Police officer from Wallingford, died in August 2019 while responding to the theft of a quad bike near Sulhamstead in Berkshire.

During the incident, Harper became caught in a towrope attached to a fleeing vehicle driven by three teenagers attempting to escape the scene.

He was dragged for more than a mile along country roads and suffered fatal injuries.

The case shocked the country and later became the focus of a national campaign led by his widow for tougher penalties when emergency workers are killed while carrying out their duties.

Following a trial, Henry Long, who drove the vehicle, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for manslaughter.

His co-defendants, Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, each received 13-year prison sentences after also being convicted of manslaughter.

Under the Government’s revised early release policy, Long is not eligible for earlier release.

However, Bowers and Cole remain eligible and could be released after serving half of their sentences.

The prospect of their release has generated significant public attention in recent weeks.

A petition opposing the decision, launched by Thames Valley Police Federation chair Aileen O’Connor, had gathered more than 510,000 signatures by shortly after 12:30 BST on the day of the latest reports.

The petition calls on ministers to prevent Bowers and Cole from being released early.

Speaking about the campaign, Lissie Harper said she hopes public support will encourage ministers to change course.

“Hopefully we can make the current government come to their senses and realise we cannot put people like this back on our streets,” she said.

“Justice should mean justice and serving the sentence given.”

Harper also described the Government’s position as another painful setback for her family.

In a written statement, she said the planned early release represented “a secondary gut punch” years after losing her husband.

She criticized both the original prison sentences and the reasoning behind the current early release policy.

“The sentences Andrew’s killers received were pitiful,” she said.

“The fact we are hearing these absurd reasons for early release like prisons being too full is disgraceful and disgusting.”

“The people making these decisions should be utterly ashamed of themselves.”

The controversy follows the Government’s announcement earlier this week that it had revised elements of its early release scheme after conducting a review.

Initially introduced as part of efforts to address severe prison overcrowding, the scheme allows certain prisoners to become eligible for release earlier than originally expected.

Following criticism from victims’ groups and politicians, ministers announced that offenders convicted of rape, child sexual abuse and grooming offences would no longer qualify.

However, individuals convicted of manslaughter remain within the scope of the policy.

That decision has continued to draw criticism from police organizations.

Aileen O’Connor, who chairs the Thames Valley Police Federation, said the issue has had a significant impact on serving officers.

She told the BBC that morale had been affected by the Government’s decision.

O’Connor also reflected on the continuing impact of Andrew Harper’s death on his family.

“Lissie Harper, Andrew Harper’s parents, his brother, his family, his close friends, they are serving the life sentence of not having Andrew Harper here today fulfilling his best potential for his life,” she said.

The Police Federation has been among the organizations publicly urging ministers to reconsider the eligibility of Bowers and Cole.

In recent days, senior policing figures have also questioned the policy.

Thames Valley Chief Constable Jason Hogg has previously confirmed that he is exploring potential legal options to challenge the Government’s decision.

Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber has likewise criticized the policy and said he wrote to ministers seeking intervention.

The Government has defended its position by pointing to the wider pressures facing the prison estate.

Justice Secretary Alex Norris said ministers were attempting to prevent England and Wales from running out of prison places within months.

According to Norris, the latest revisions to the scheme mean approximately 1,000 prisoners who had previously been eligible will now remain in custody longer.

He said expanding the list of excluded offenders further would undermine the policy’s objective.

“If we drew it any wider we would have a prison capacity crisis,” Norris said.

The Justice Secretary also emphasized that offenders released under the scheme would remain subject to licence conditions after leaving prison.

He said those individuals would face significant restrictions and that victims would be consulted during the release process.

Government officials have repeatedly warned that prison overcrowding has become one of the most significant operational challenges facing the criminal justice system.

Ministers argue that without measures to reduce the prison population, correctional facilities could reach full capacity as early as October.

Officials have warned that such a scenario could have wider consequences, including affecting courts’ ability to remand defendants and limiting police operations.

Despite those explanations, criticism has continued from across the political spectrum.

Olivia Bailey, the Labour MP for Reading and Mid Berkshire, said she was disappointed that the review did not remove Bowers and Cole from eligibility.

“PC Harper’s killers should not be eligible for early release, and I am deeply disappointed that the government have not exempted them from the early release scheme following their review,” Bailey said.

“I will continue to do whatever I can to challenge this decision.”

The debate has also renewed attention on Harper’s Law, legislation inspired by Andrew Harper’s death.

Following years of campaigning by Lissie Harper, Parliament introduced Harper’s Law as part of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act.

The legislation established mandatory life sentences for offenders convicted of killing emergency workers while committing another crime.

Supporters of the law have noted that, had the current legislation been in force at the time of Harper’s death, the sentencing framework applicable to his killers would have been different.

However, those legal changes cannot be applied retrospectively.

As a result, Bowers and Cole remain subject to the sentencing rules that existed when they were convicted in 2020.

The issue has become one of the most prominent debates surrounding the Government’s efforts to manage prison overcrowding while maintaining public confidence in the justice system.

For Lissie Harper, the campaign remains focused on preventing what she believes would be an unjust outcome.

With public support continuing to grow through the petition and criticism coming from police leaders, elected representatives and victims’ advocates, pressure on ministers is likely to continue as the planned release dates for Bowers and Cole draw closer.