The widow of PC Andrew Harper says it is "disgusting" her husband's killers remain eligible for the scheme in England and Wales.

Prisoners who committed rape, grooming, and serious child sex offences will be excluded from the forthcoming early release scheme for England and Wales, the government has said. Prime Minister Andy Burnham paused plans to release some prisoners in September as part of a bid to stop unprecedented prison overcrowding after backlash from survivors and victims. The scheme will now restart in October. Burnham said he "wanted to go even further", but that would not be possible without the prison system collapsing and putting the public "at much greater risk". Lissie Harper, the widow of police officer Andrew Harper, said it was "disgusting" that his killers could be eligible for early release. PC Harper, 28, was killed in 2019 when he was dragged by a car down a country road as three teenagers fled the scene of the quad bike theft in Berkshire. His family previously said they had received a letter from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) confirming the offenders who killed the officer could be included in the scheme. In a statement announcing the changes on Monday, he said: "I fully understand the anger, anxiety and distress that's been caused. I've heard that loud and clear." But Lissie Harper said that she was "beyond appalled and bristling with anger to hear that Andrew's killers are soon to be free to roam the streets".