Officer who led PC Harper investigation 'appalled' killers could be released early

The senior investigating officer in the PC Andrew Harper case has told BBC Breakfast he is "appalled" that two of the killers will become eligible for early release.

PC Harper, 28, from Wallingford, Oxfordshire, died from catastrophic injuries in 2019 when he was dragged behind the getaway car of three teenagers who had fled the scene of a quad bike theft.

Two of his killers – Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers – will be eligible for early release next year under revised government plans to tackle prison overcrowding.

Stuart Blaik, who investigated the killing, said it was "particularly hard to understand" their case for early release and said police officers were shocked at the prospect.

PC Harper's widow, Lissie Harper, has been among a growing number calling for Cole and Bowers to be denied early release from prison.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast on Friday, former Det Sup Blaik, who led the Thames Valley Police investigation, pointed to remarks by the judge who sentenced PC Harper's killers. Mr Justice Edis referred to their case of manslaughter as being "very close to a case of murder in its seriousness".

The former officer called for prisoners who were judged to have had a high level of culpability for a manslaughter offence to be excluded from the scheme.

Allowing them to walk free would "undermine" the judicial process and impact police morale, Blaik said, before urging the government to have a "long, hard think" about the case.