The government is reviewing whether two men convicted of the manslaughter of PC Andrew Harper could be released early under planned prisoner-release measures. The case has intensified concerns about the policy’s effect on victims’ families and public confidence in sentencing, while ministers balance those concerns against prison overcrowding.

PC Harper, 28, died in August 2019 after becoming caught in a strap attached to a car fleeing a quad-bike theft in Berkshire and being dragged for more than a mile. Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, both 17 at the time, received 13-year sentences in 2020; under the proposed arrangements, they could be eligible for release after serving half their terms rather than two-thirds.