Police Weigh Legal Action Over Harper Killers' Release
A senior police officer is considering joining legal action to block the early release of the men jailed over the death of PC Andrew Harper, as the row over the government’s prison scheme intensified. Harper’s own force publicly condemned the early-release policy, and the Police Federation has called the prospect of freeing his killers “unacceptable”. Ministers had tightened the scheme to exclude serious sexual offenders.
Harper, a Thames Valley officer, was dragged to his death behind a car in 2019, in a case that shocked the country and led to tougher laws on killing emergency workers. That his killers remain within scope of early release, while rapists and child abusers are barred, has become a running embarrassment for a government wrestling with overcrowded jails. The prospect of legal action by the police themselves raises the stakes and the political temperature. Ministers insist the most serious offenders are excluded and that public protection comes first. Watch whether the government moves to close the loophole or faces the courts.