Advertisement

Prison sentences for PC Andrew Harper's killers referred to appeal for being 'unduly lenient'

Henry Long, 19, Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, both 18, were all sentenced for the death of PC Andrew Harper. (PA)
Henry Long, 19, Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, both 18, were all sentenced for the death of PC Andrew Harper. (PA)

The sentences handed to the three killers of PC Andrew Harper have been referred to the Court of Appeal.

Attorney General Suella Braverman has made the referral under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.

The move comes after criticism that the sentences handed to Henry Long, Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole were not tough enough.

The three teenagers were convicted of manslaughter and not murder following a jury trial.

Henry Long, 19, was given 16 years in prison, having served as the getaway driver when the officer got caught in a tow rope and was dragged behind a car while responding to a theft.

BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE Undated family handout file photo issued by Thames Valley Police of 28-year-old PC Andrew Harper. Three teenage killers are to be sentenced for the death of Pc Andrew Harper amid mounting anger that those responsible are not facing life in prison for murder.
PC Harper was killed on duty last year. (PA Images/Thames Valley Police)

Passengers Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, both 18, were each handed 13-year sentences.

Suella Braverman said: “This was a horrific crime which resulted in the death of a much-respected police officer while he was on-duty, protecting his community.

“Having personally considered the details of this shocking case, I have decided to refer the sentences of PC Andrew Harper’s killers to the Court of Appeal.

“Attacks made against emergency workers will not be tolerated and offenders should be punished with the greatest severity for such heinous crimes.”

Bowers and Cole this week lodged applications with the Court of Appeal seeking permission to challenge their convictions and their 13-year jail sentences.

PCs Harper and Andrew Shaw responded to a report of a stolen quad bike from a property in Stanford Dingley, Berkshire, late on 15 August 2019.

They found the three teenagers towing a £10,000 Honda quadbike and as PC Harper gave chase he became tied in the tow rope before being dragged for more than a mile at over 40mph.

File photo dated 24/7/2020 of Lissie Harper, the widow of Pc Andrew Harper, who feels as if she has been handed a "life sentence" by those who killed her husband.
Lissie Harper has campaigned for a change in the law. (PA Images)

Officers found him unconscious and barely alive near the A4 shortly after. He died at the scene.

The teenagers admitted planning the quadbike theft and Long pleaded guilty to manslaughter, but all three denied knowing that PC Harper was attached to the rope.

After their jail terms were handed down, Lissie Harper, who had married PC Harper just weeks before his death, has been campaigning for a change in law that would see a mandatory life sentence for those found guilty of killing an emergency worker.

“This is great news and we thank the Attorney General for her swift decision,” she said.

“The sentences for Andrew’s killers did not match their heinous crime.

“It was not justice and it needs to be addressed. Police officers need to be properly protected by the judicial system. And there must be appropriate punishments for those who would kill police officers.”

PC Andrew Harper’s mother Debbie Adlam said: “My family and I know that the whole nation stands with us in outrage at the sentences handed down to my son’s killers.

“We can only hope that a fairer outcome is reached by the Court of Appeal to deliver the justice that Andrew deserves.

“As a family we will not stop campaigning until our blue light heroes are safer as they step out each and every day to protect us as a society.”