Pc Andrew Harper's widow Lissie 'appalled' husband's killer appealing sentence
The widow of Pc Andrew Harper has said she is "appalled" one of her husband's killers is appealing his "lenient" sentence.
In an interview on ITV's Good Morning Britain, Lissie Harper said she was "not surprised" Henry Long, one of three men convicted of the manslaughter of Pc Harper, had applied for permission to appeal against his 16-year prison sentence.
His co-accused, Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, both 18, have also lodged applications seeking permission to challenge their convictions and their 13-year prison sentences.
Lissie Harper told Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid she was 'not surprised' one of her husband's killers was appealing his sentence.
In the wake of the verdicts, Mrs Harper launched a petition campaigning for a new law which would mean those who kill emergency workers are jailed for life.
'Harper's Law' would mean a person found guilty of killing a police officer, firefighter, nurse, doctor, paramedic or prison officer as a direct result of a crime they have committed would be given a life sentence. An online petition calling for Harper’s Law has received nearly 650,000 signatures.
Asked by Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid on Tuesday how she felt about Long appealing what she believed was a lenient sentence, Mrs Harper said: "I'm not overly surprised, but I am pretty appalled that these people having shown no remorse throughout the whole trial now think that it's in their right to appeal that.
"Already the sentences are far too lenient and they think 'well, let's give it a go, let's see if we can get off'. And that feels totally wrong to me."
Mrs Harper and her 28-year-old husband had been married for just four weeks when he and a Thames Valley Police colleague responded to a late-night burglary in Sulhamstead, Berkshire, in August last year.
Long, Cole and Bowes were acquitted of murder but sentenced for the lesser charge of manslaughter after Pc Harper got caught in a crane strap attached to the back of a car driven by Long, and was dragged to his death along dark country lanes.
The prison sentences given to all three have already been referred to the Court of Appeal by the Attorney General for judges to decide whether they were too lenient.
Mrs Harper is due to meet Home Secretary Priti Patel on Wednesday for talks.