One of PC Andrew Harper's killers who could have been freed from prison last month is reportedly also a convicted sex offender.

Albert Bowers, 24, was in line to be released from prison alongside 29-year-old Jessie Cole just halfway through their 13-year sentences for manslaughter.

Bowers and Cole were two of three people in a car that dragged PC Harper down a country road after he got caught in a strap attached to the vehicle as they fled the scene of a quad bike theft in Sulhamstead, Berkshire.

After a major public outcry, Prime Minister Andy Burnham was eventually forced to keep hundreds of criminals behind bars in order to prevent the duo's release. 

Now, however, reports suggest that Bowers committed a sex crime prior to PC Harper's death in 2019 - but was still considered fit for an early release.

The criminal, who is being held at the high-security HMP Frankland, is thought to be listed as a 'sex offender', 'violent' and 'racist' on the facility's records. 

A source told The Sun: 'This is outrageous and shows he is a danger to society and woman in particular. It likely means he offended on the outside before he was jailed. 

'That would mean he would have been under 18 and not named in public records because children have right to anonymity in relation to crimes. 

'But the authorities know about it and that's why it's marked on files. It is a disgrace he was ever slated for release.' 

The revelation comes after it emerged that one of Bowers' two accomplices, Cole, was deemed a 'risk to staff' by jail bosses at Whitemoor Prison in Cambridgeshire. 

Henry Long, meanwhile, the driver of the vehicle which dragged Harper to his death, is serving a 16-year sentence and was never deemed eligible for release. 

The early release scheme was introduced in September 2024 amid an overcrowding crisis in the country's jails. It allows certain prisoners to be released after serving 40 per cent of their fixed-term sentence rather than the usual 50 per cent. 

Following a huge outcry at news that Bowers and Cole could be freed in January, Burnham told the BBC in an interview last month that anyone convicted of unlawful killing - including all forms of manslaughter - would be excluded from the scheme. 

Those convicted of historic child sex offences and indecent assault were also excluded. 

PC Harper's mother Debbie Adlam said she was 'grateful' for the Prime Minister's decision, but added that the family is 'only back at where we were to start with' after several 'traumatic months'. 

The chairwoman of Thames Valley Police Federation, Aileen O'Connor said: 'PC Andrew Harper made the ultimate sacrifice for the job that he loved, serving communities, serving society.

'His killers should never have been considered for early release. It remains shocking that they were.

'We are pleased that the Government – despite what was, frankly, initial reluctance – has eventually listened, seen sense and made the right decision to keep these low-lifes behind bars.

'They had no option. The weight of public and policing opinion against such plans was overwhelming. The fact that more than one million people signed our petition over this was a historic public backing for police officers.

'The fact 50 chief constables across the UK wrote an open letter calling for the Government to reconsider was unprecedented.

'The right and proper decision has been made.'

Since becoming Prime Minister, Mr Burnham has excluded rapists and child sex offenders from being eligible for the scheme following widespread condemnation.

Some 5,000 people are now expected to be released early under sentencing changes under the Government's scheme, down from 6,000 after Mr Burnham's two exemptions were put in place.

Unlawful act manslaughter is when a person causes the death of another while committing a separate illegal act.

Mr Burnham said extra space in prisons would be created by deporting foreign prisoners and releasing inmates who are serving indefinite sentences under Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences (IPPs), which were given to offenders considered a significant risk to the public between 2005 and 2012.