Former detective shares doubts as PC Andrew Harper killers may be released early

Former Detective Superintendent Stuart Blaik, who led the investigation into PC Andrew Harper’s death, has broken his silence for the first time and said he does not believe the killers were sorry. Blaik described the case as "complex" and "highly emotional" as renewed anger grew over whether two of the men jailed for the killing could be released early.

PC Andrew Harper was 28 when he died in August 2019 after his ankles became caught in a strap trailing behind a car and he was dragged for more than a mile in Berkshire. He had been responding to a report of a stolen quad bike when he was killed, a death that triggered public fury and prompted sentencing changes for attacks on emergency workers, widely known as Harper’s Law.

Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers were jailed for 13 years in 2020 for manslaughter, and the current row centres on whether two of Harper’s killers could become eligible for release halfway through their sentences under prison overcrowding reforms. That prospect has revived a wider argument about how England and Wales handles violent crime, and whether rules introduced to ease pressure on prisons are eroding confidence in punishment for the killing of a police officer.

Harper’s family say the new law introduced after his death now feels forgotten. They described the possibility of early release as "deplorable", while Harper’s mother said it feels like an "insult" and that "every victim will be feeling the same". Her remarks reflect a broader frustration among bereaved families who backed tougher penalties after Harper’s death and now see one of the most prominent cases testing the limits of those reforms.

Police leaders and officers’ representatives have also reacted sharply. Thames Valley Police chief constable Jason Hogg said he was considering joining legal action to block the release, while Thames Valley Police Federation chair Aileen O’Connor called the prospect "gut-wrenching" and "unacceptable". Her warning that the decision would affect the morale of serving officers has fed into the national debate over whether the justice system gives enough weight to attacks on police and other emergency workers.

The case had already been examined by the Attorney General, who referred the sentences as unduly lenient, but judges rejected any increase. That earlier decision, combined with the current early-release rules, has left Harper’s killing at the centre of a dispute over whether the punishment handed down in court, and the punishment the public expects, are still aligned.