Overview
- The Sentencing Act changed minimum time‑served rules earlier this year so some prisoners can be released after one‑third or halfway through fixed terms and the government has delayed full rollout to October while narrowing exemptions.
- Despite exemptions that now bar rapists and the most serious child‑sex offenders, Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers—each serving 13 years for PC Andrew Harper’s 2019 manslaughter—still qualify to be released at the halfway point.
- Public pressure has surged with a petition demanding the pair stay jailed passing more than half a million signatures and police federations plus the Thames Valley chief constable seeking legal advice on judicial review to block any early release.
- The Prime Minister has instructed the Ministry of Justice to carry out an urgent, case‑by‑case review to identify historical grooming and pre‑2003 offences that may fall through the scheme’s carve‑outs.
- Ministers justify the changes as necessary to prevent a collapsing prison system and say early releases will come with tougher supervision such as electronic monitoring, longer licence periods, and random testing; the measures could prompt further legal and political fights and possible legislative responses.