Harper killer's sex offender past prompts early release exclusion
One of PC Andrew Harper's killers was a convicted sex offender, prompting changes to early release rules for manslaughter and other serious crimes.
How it was covered
- GB News was the only channel found covering it.
- Channel 5, BBC News, BBC One, BBC Two, Channel 4, ITV and Sky News: not found in tracked broadcasts.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.
The revelation that one of the men convicted of killing PC Andrew Harper was a convicted sex offender has prompted fresh questions about the early release of prisoners and led to a government statement on sentencing changes.
Albert Bowers, who was involved in the death of the Thames Valley police officer in 2019, is reported to have committed a sex offence before the killing. He is also described as violent and racist. The Sun newspaper reported the details, and the story has now become a major talking point.
Bowers remains in prison in Durham. The fact that he was even considered for early release has been described as "outrageous" by a source quoted in the coverage. The panel on GB News expressed disbelief that such a case could be in the "maybe pile" for release.
The Ministry of Justice has responded. Lord Chancellor Alex Norris said in a statement: "We moved quickly to exclude rape and many serious child sex and grooming offences from our sentencing changes and we have gone further still by excluding unlawful killing offences, including death by dangerous driving, causing or allowing the death of a child and manslaughter." He added that this means "hundreds more dangerous criminals stay behind bars for longer", and paid tribute to PC Harper's wife and mother for their campaigning.
The case has also raised broader concerns about the state of the prison system and the competence of the justice department. Critics argue that the system is so dysfunctional that it cannot even categorise prisoners properly, and that the early release scheme was not designed with common sense.
The story continues to develop, with questions being asked of Andy Burnham and the Justice Secretary about what they knew and when.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| Albert Bowers is a convicted sex offender and one of PC Andrew Harper's killers. | |
| Albert Bowers was under consideration for early release. | |
| The Ministry of Justice excluded manslaughter from early release. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The channel focused on the shocking nature of the revelation, the incompetence of the justice system, and the political fallout. They were highly critical of the early release scheme and questioned how such a person could be considered. They also read out the Ministry of Justice statement, giving the government's response.
- “This is outrageous and shows he is a danger to society and women in particular.”
- “I go with the incompetence theory as well.”
- “The system is completely broken.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.