Fed members urged to contact MPs to strengthen campaign against early release for PC Andrew Harper killers

21 August 2026

Hertfordshire Police Federation chair Luke Mitchell has called on branch members to reach out to their local MPs over concerns that the killers of PC Andrew Harper could be granted early release from prison.

PC Harper, a Thames Valley Police officer, was killed in August 2019 after responding to a report of a quadbike theft. He was fatally dragged along a country road by a car while carrying out his duties.

Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers were among the three men inside the offending vehicle and were each convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 13 years in prison.

Under an updated UK Sentencing Act, however, the pair could become eligible to serve only half of their sentences as part of a scheme intended to alleviate prison overcrowding.

 

PC Andrew Harper.

 

The prospect of their early release has been widely criticised, with a petition calling for the men to serve their full sentences having now passed one million signatures.

Branch chair Luke believes this level of opposition should send a clear message to the Government and is now urging people to use their local MPs to express it further.

He said: “The response to this petition has been extraordinary and, importantly, it shows that this is not simply an issue for policing.

“More than a million people have taken the time to put their name to something because they believe the killers of PC Harper should serve the sentences handed to them.

Strength of feeling

“That strength of feeling now needs to be built on and reinforced.

“With Parliament due to return in September, now is a great time to get our voices heard to hopefully affect some further change to the early release scheme.

“Therefore, I would encourage Federation members, as well as the wider policing family and the general public, to express their views in a firm, respectful message to their local MP.”

Policing figures across the country have already raised concerns about amendments to the Sentencing Act, including at national level by the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW).

An urgent review of the early release scheme was undertaken after Prime Minister Andy Burnham came into office and concluded that certain high-risk offenders would be ineligible to benefit.

Excluded

Those currently excluded from the scheme are prisoners convicted of rape, grooming and serious child sex offences, but Luke has reiterated his belief that the killers of police officers should be part of this group.

He added: “As a Federation, we have already made our stance clear on this development. 

“Under no circumstances should those responsible for the death of a police officer gain early release, and for the killers of the likes of PC Harper to even be in contention for this is unacceptable.

“For his family, friends and colleagues, PC Harper’s death is something they will grieve over for the rest of their lives. There is no way for their pain to be halved or cut short, so the same must apply to the sentences of those responsible.

Protecting people

“Policing is a profession built around protecting other people, often in circumstances where officers have no idea what they are going to face when they start their shift.

“When an officer is killed doing that job, I believe there should be a very clear line in the law which recognises the unique gravity of that crime.”

The letter template below has been created for members to use.

You can find the name and contact details of your local MP by entering your postcode on the UK Parliament website: Find your MP

Federation members can share responses received from their MP with the branch via email.

Letter template

Dear [MP NAME],

I am writing as your constituent to ask you to support the campaign to prevent the early release of PC Andrew Harper’s killers. I am deeply concerned that changes to early release under the Government’s new Sentencing Act could mean that two of the men responsible for PC Harper’s death are released from prison before they have served their full sentence.

Police officers put themselves in harm’s way every single day to keep the rest of us safe.

They run towards danger when others run away, knowing that there is always a possibility they may not make it home to their families.

Allowing those responsible for killing an officer in the line of duty to benefit from early release would send a terrible message to police officers across the country about how we value their service and sacrifice.

I believe that PC Harper’s family and colleagues deserve better. I am therefore asking you, as my MP, to urge the Prime Minister and the Justice Secretary to make urgent changes to the Early Release Scheme, so that PC Andrew Harper’s killers remain behind bars for the duration of their original sentence.

I look forward to hearing from you.

[NAME]

[POSTCODE]

READ MORE: Serve and Protect finance advice factsheet.