Call with No 10 gives us hope, PC Harper's mother says
Debbie Adlam says she does not want a "special case" for her son, but for killers of emergency workers to be exempt.
Debbie Adlam, mother of PC Andrew Harper, spoke to BBC Breakfast about a phone call she received from Downing Street. The conversation centered around an early release scheme that could potentially see her son's killers, Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, freed halfway through their sentences. Adlam expressed her hope but cautioned against being too optimistic.
The PM promised to do everything he could to find a resolution. Cole and Bowers were sentenced to 13 years for PC Harper's manslaughter in 2020, and under new Sentencing Act changes, they would be eligible for early release next January. Downing Street had previously stated they would not exclude "one or two offenders" convicted of manslaughter from the scheme, but Burnham has now instructed the justice secretary to find a way to exclude Cole and Bowers.
The mother of the fallen officer emphasized that the decision affects not only her family but also the entire country.
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