Burnham Excludes Unlawful Killing from Early Release Scheme, Keeping PC Harper's Killers in Prison

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has changed the early release scheme so that anyone convicted of unlawful killing, including all forms of manslaughter, is excluded from early release. The change means that PC Andrew Harper's killers, Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, will remain behind bars and will not have their sentences shortened. Cole and Bowers, who were 17 at the time of the offence, were sentenced to 13 years in custody for the manslaughter of PC Harper and had been due for release in January (The Guardian).

PC Harper was 28 when he sustained fatal injuries while responding to a quad bike theft in Sulhamstead, Berkshire, in August 2019. The lengthy campaign by his family and former colleagues to block the early release of his killers placed sustained pressure on the government. Thames Valley Police leaders had continued to press the UK Government over the issue, stating they were prepared to work with the Government to improve legislation to ensure the killers were not released early (Thames Valley PCC).

The exclusion announced on 30 August 2026 builds on earlier changes Burnham made this month. On 4 August, the Prime Minister announced changes to the early prison release scheme following what was described as an "urgent review," blocking early release for rapists and serious child sex offenders (Sky News). The government confirmed that rape, serious child sex and other grooming offences would be barred from upcoming changes to prison sentences (gov.uk). At that stage, however, the Harper case remained unresolved, and his widow publicly criticised the government, calling the situation a "betrayal" (Sky News). Burnham said the justice secretary would present a broader plan in September to prevent further early releases (BBC).

The exclusion now covers not only all forms of manslaughter but also offenders imprisoned for death by dangerous driving and indecent assault. Under Crown Prosecution Service guidance on homicide, where an unlawful killing is carried out without an intention to kill or to cause grievous bodily harm, the suspect is charged with manslaughter rather than murder (CPS). The Law Commission separately maintains an ongoing project to reform the law of homicide, covering reckless manslaughter, unlawful dangerous act manslaughter, and gross negligence (Law Commission).

Burnham said the latest change would mean "hundreds" more people stay in prison, a significant demand on a system that is already more than 97% full in England and Wales. To create the necessary capacity, the Prime Minister said spaces would be made available by deporting foreign national offenders and releasing some inmates serving indefinite sentences. The Early Removal Scheme, which provides for the early removal of foreign national offenders from England and Wales, is an existing mechanism through which deportations of foreign prisoners are carried out (gov.uk).

Burnham also announced plans to end imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentences during the current parliament. IPP sentences were introduced between 2005 and 2012 for offenders deemed to pose a significant risk to the public. Though the sentences were abolished more than a decade ago, more than 2,000 people remain behind bars under them in England and Wales. Releasing some of those still serving IPP terms is now part of the strategy to free prison space for the additional offenders excluded from early release.

The broader legislative vehicle for these changes is the Sentencing Act 2026, which has received Royal Assent and will end automatic release for badly behaved offenders while strengthening community punishment (gov.uk). The government's progression model, introduced through the Act, changes prison release arrangements and allows offenders serving multiple concurrent sentences to be released earlier depending on the nature of their sentences (gov.uk). The reforms are intended to ensure prisons never run out of space again (gov.uk).

Under the new measures, released offenders will face tagging and, for the first time, restriction zones designed to prevent them from approaching their victims. The government is undertaking its biggest-ever expansion of offender tagging, with tens of thousands more offenders to be tagged. A pilot launching in the coming month will tag offenders before they leave prison gates, rather than days after release as under current practice (gov.uk).

The chain of decisions over August 2026 reveals a government recalibrating the balance between punishment and prison capacity under acute operational strain. Excluding unlawful killing from early release responds directly to a campaign that had become politically untenable, but it also tightens the squeeze on a system already at 97% occupancy. The mitigation strategy relies on two levers that carry their own complications: deporting foreign national offenders, which depends on bilateral cooperation and legal due process, and releasing IPP prisoners, a population long at the centre of human rights concern. The September plan from the justice secretary, which Burnham has flagged, will indicate whether the government intends further exclusions or whether the current list marks the outer boundary of its intent.