Pc Andrew Harper’s killers sentenced to combined total of 42 years
Video report by ITV News Correspondent Martha Fairlie
Three men have been sentenced to a combined total of 42 years for the manslaughter of Pc Andrew Harper.
Getaway driver Henry Long, 19, was jailed for 16 years at the Old Bailey for manslaughter over the death of Pc Andrew Harper, who was killed in the line of duty in Berkshire last August.
Long’s passengers Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, both 18, were each handed 13-year sentences for manslaughter over their roles in Pc Harper’s death.
During sentencing, Mr Justice Edis said the defendants had killed “a talented and brave young police officer” and “rejected” the notion the teenagers had shown remorse for their actions.
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Justice Edis said: “In better language, you killed a talented and brave young police officer who was going above and beyond his duty in order to provide a public service.
“You did so because you have deliberately decided to expose any police officer that got in your way to a risk of death.”
Harper's widow Lissie broke down twice as she read from her victim impact statement on Friday morning, ahead of the sentencing of the trio.
Trio guilty of Pc Harper's manslaughter arrive at court for sentencing
Mrs Harper told the court: “This is my third attempt at writing a statement.
“I simply find myself in a lost and endless world.
“That’s the reason in particular this question defeats me – unless you have stood in my shoes, lost a soulmate, a beloved partner you intended to spend your life with – how is this grief possible to describe?
“I have used every word possible to describe this torture – indescribable trauma I have been forced to endure these past 11 months.
“I have cried and broken down.”
Mrs Harper told the court she felt “robbed” of her future with her husband, the 28-year-old Thames Valley Police officer she married four weeks earlier.
The pair were childhood sweethearts and had been in a relationship for 13 years.
Mrs Harper said: “Should I speak again of how we were robbed of our future or the plans stolen from us?
“Four weeks was all I had with my husband – four weeks to be called his wife.
“My life often feels bleak, hopeless, irreparable.
“Every aspect of my life since Andrew was taken is bitterly different.”
DS Blaik said of Pc Harper's killers Long, Bowers and Cole: "These are three people who I do not believe have ever shown an ounce of genuine remorse or contrition for their actions, and who did their best to frustrate the police investigation."
He also addressed the controversy which has accompanied the verdicts of not-guilty in relation to the murder counts.
He said: "I am aware there has been much discussion amongst the media and the public about those verdicts, but today I welcome the judge's sentencing remarks."These were fully reflective of the seriousness of this offence and their culpability."
He added: "We will always remember Pc Andrew Harper and we will never forget the ultimate sacrifice he made when protecting the public from these selfish and reckless criminals."
A jury last week cleared the three defendants of murder, prompting hugs and pats on the back between the three.
But the verdicts were met with anguish from the Ms Harper, who said she was “utterly shocked and appalled” at the decision not to convict the teenagers of murder.
After the ruling at the Old Bailey, she told reporters: “I now have my own life sentence to bear and believe me when I say it will be a lot more painful, soul destroying and painful journey than anyone facing a meagre number of years in prison will experience.”
Mrs Harper has since called on the government to intervene, despite a retrial being both extremely unusual and unlikely.
In an open letter posted on her Facebook page on Tuesday evening, Mrs Harper wrote to Boris Johnson, Home Secretary Priti Patel and former Labour Home Secretary Lord (David) Blunkett urging them and others “to right such a despicable wrong for our country”.
She wrote: “I implore you to hear my words, see the facts that are laid out before us, and I ask with no expectations other than hope that you might help me to make these changes be considered, to ensure that Andrew is given the retrial that he unquestionably deserves and to see that the justice system in our country is the solid ethical foundation that it rightly should be. Not the joke that so many of us now view it to be.”
It is almost exactly a year since Pc Harper and his colleague Pc Andrew Shaw responded to a report of a stolen quad bike from a property in Stanford Dingley, Berkshire, on the night of August 15, 2019.
It was four hours after his shift was due to finish, though the pair were in the area so wanted to help.
They soon came nose-to-nose with the thieves towing the £10,000 Honda quadbike in Admoor Lane, prompting Pc Harper to get out of the police car and chase Cole, who had unhooked the rope between the Seat Toledo getaway vehicle and the stolen Honda.
Cole dived into the Seat, past Pc Harper’s grasp, prompting Long to make off at speeds of 42.5mph, carrying the stricken policeman behind for 91 seconds.
His uniform was stripped away and he was found by colleagues unconscious and barely alive in Ufton Lane near the A4 moments later.
Despite attempts to save him, he died at the scene.
The getaway vehicle was later tracked to the nearby Four Houses Corner caravan site.
Following his arrest, Long – who later admitted manslaughter – concocted a false alibi that he had been watching the racing film Fast And Furious at the time.
But an examination of mobile phone data eventually placed all the defendants – members of the travelling community – in the Seat.
Their defence claimed the incident was a “freak event” that none of them could have planned or foreseen.
But the prosecution said at more than 6ft and weighing 14 stone, the defendants must have been aware Pc Harper was being dragged to his death.
A fourth defendant, Thomas King, 21, from Basingstoke, had admitted conspiracy to steal a quad bike and is also due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey, before Mr Justice Edis.