Police chiefs have urged the Prime Minister to examine 'every lawful option' to prevent Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole roaming Britain's streets

Andy Burnham has been urged by every police chief in Britain to block the release of PC Andrew Harper's killers.

Every police chief in the UK, alongside the head of the Jersey force, the NCA, military police and more have told the Prime Minister to consider "every lawful option" to prevent the release of the slain officer's killers.

In their extraordinary intervention, they also call for stronger protections for victims and communities when Labour's early release scheme comes into force.

The letter follows Mr Burnham saying he believed the Government could go "much further" to prevent killers Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole from being released after serving just half of their sentences.

It reads: "We welcome your intervention regarding the potential earlier release of those responsible for the death of PC Andrew Harper, and your instruction to the Justice Secretary to examine what can lawfully be done.

"When the state asks people to run towards danger on behalf of the public, they should be able to trust that the justice system will stand behind them when the worst happens."

The Prime Minister previously suggested it was not possible to prevent the release of the two men, with Justice Secretary Alex Norris calling PC Harper's mother Debbie Adlam personally to deliver the devastating news.

But on Tuesday, he said he was "increasingly confident" he could stop the release of the duo, claiming he had "never accepted that there is nothing more that can be done".

Mr Norris, set with the task of revising the policy, said the Government would soon set out a plan to exempt PC Harper's killers from the scheme - which is set to free other criminals convicted of manslaughter.

Police chiefs said there was a "profound strength of feeling" within forces around the release of the vile duo.

"Officers and staff understand that the law must be applied as it stands. But they will question what message this sends about the value placed on their service and sacrifice when they put themselves in harm’s way to protect others," the open letter reads.

Chief constables across the UK told the Prime Minister the case of PC Harper raised a "wider question", adding that the decision to implement Labour's early release scheme could undermine the confidence of families in the justice system.

"Families across the country are now facing the distress of learning that offenders may be released earlier than they understood when sentence was passed," they wrote.

"We do not suggest that the grief of a police family is greater than that of any other bereaved family, nor that the life of an emergency worker has greater value.

"Our concern is for all victims and families affected by serious offending sentencing changes."

LABOUR'S EARLY RELEASE SCHEME - READ MORE:

After campaigning from the family of PC Harper, Harper's Law was passed in 2022, which introduced mandatory life sentences for offenders who kill emergency service workers.

Bowers and Cole were sentenced in 2020 for manslaughter for 13 years, but the law did not apply retroactively - making them eligible for early release from January in an effort to stop prison overcrowding.

The open letter called on the Government to examine "every lawful option" to prevent the release of the duo.

"First, we ask that every lawful option is examined to determine whether the earlier release of those responsible for PC Andrew Harper's death can be prevented," the chief constables wrote.

"We recognise that Government must act within the law. Nevertheless, given the significance of this case, it is right that every available lawful avenue is explored."

It also urged the Government to "establish an additional public protection safeguard" when considering the release of serious offenders.

"This is not simply a question of punishment. It is a question of ensuring that public protection, victim confidence and community safety remain central to decisions that may substantially reduce the time an offender spends in custody," the open letter read.

The Government has also been urged to properly consider victims and families when making major changes to sentencing or release arrangements.

It concluded: "The public should be able to trust that when a court passes sentence for the most serious crimes, victims, public protection and confidence in the justice system remain at the heart of any subsequent decisions about release.

"We stand ready to continue working with Government on safeguards needed to protect victims, the public and confidence in the justice system."

The Ministry of Justice said: "We have been clear that we wanted to go further and block more offenders from getting out sooner into their sentence, but could not do so without risking prisons reaching capacity and collapsing.

"If that happened, police could not make arrests, courts could not remand offenders and there would be unchecked criminality on our streets.

"We are pulling every lever to protect the public and cut crime — undergoing the largest prison expansion programme since the Victorian era, launching the biggest ever expansion of tagging to toughen community punishment and increasing support to victims, giving them a say in the strict licence conditions of offenders."