Rapists and child sex offenders to be barred from early release scheme

PC Andrew Harper was killed in 2019 when he was dragged by a car down a country road

The mother of PC Andrew Harper has told the BBC she is "devastated" two of his killers remain eligible for early release after the government revised plans to tackle overcrowding.

Prisoners who committed rape, grooming, and serious child sex offences will be excluded from the scheme for England and Wales, the government announced on Monday, in a bid to tackle prison overcrowding.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he "wanted to go even further", but that would not be possible without the prison system collapsing and putting the public "at much greater risk".

PC Harper, 28, was killed in 2019 when he was dragged by a car down a country road as three teenagers fled the scene of a quad bike theft in Berkshire.

Speaking to BBC Newsnight, his mother, Debbie Adlam, said: "It feels like we're letting Andrew down again.

"We've been through the justice system, we thought we'd done as best as we could.

"Now we're standing up to fight again... so I just feel really let down, for Andrew's sake as well as ours."

His family previously said they had received a letter from the Ministry of Justice confirming that two of the offenders who killed the officer could be included in the scheme.

The driver of the vehicle, Henry Long, received a 16-year sentence and would not have been eligible.

Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, who were passengers in the car and sentenced to 13 years for manslaughter after a trial at the Old Bailey in 2020, would become eligible for release after serving half of their sentences.

Adlan said she was "devastated" by the government's latest announcement, and vowed to continue to fight for justice. "I could not sit back and do nothing," she said.

She added that Justice Secretary Alex Norris had called her to explain the situation and apologise.

In a separate statement, Lissie Harper, PC Harper's widow, said it was "disgusting" that his killers could be eligible for early release.

She said she was "beyond appalled and bristling with anger to hear that Andrew's killers are soon to be free to roam the streets".

Thames Valley Police Chief Constable Jason Hogg said the decision not to exclude them was "demoralising for all police officers".

The Sentencing Act was amended in January, with the eligibility for early release based on the length of fixed sentence, rather than the type of offence.

The act already excluded some of the most serious and dangerous offenders, such as murderers serving life sentences or those on extended sentences.

But last month, Burnh