PC Harper's mum joins widow's call for 'Andrew's Law'

Lissie Harper has vowed to fight for a change in the law in memory of her husband, so that anyone killing a police officer, firefighter, nurse, doctor or paramedic is sent to prison for life.

His mum, Debbie Adlam, said that ‘something needs to change’ after those responsible for killing her son were handed sentences totalling 42 years at the Old Bailey on Friday.

Wallingford-raised PC Harper was killed as he tried to stop three thieves fleeing after they stole a quad bike in Stanford Dingley, Berkshire, on August 15 last year.

He had got out of his police car to apprehend one of them when he unknowingly stepped into the loop of a crane strap dangling from the boot of their car.

Read more: Thieves 'take poo' at nursery before stealing bikes

As he fell backwards driver Henry Long accelerated away and PC Harper was dragged along winding country roads for more than a mile at 40mph speeds.

Long, 19, and 18-year-olds Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers were sentenced for the 28-year-old’s manslaughter on Friday.

Long (right) was jailed for 16 years and Cole (top left) and Bowers (bottom left) got 13 years each.

Read more: killers sentences being reconsidered. 

Speaking from her home in Oxfordshire, Mrs Adlam also called for reductions in sentences granted to younger offenders to be scrapped – saying it ‘pulls the rug from under what the sentence should be’.

She said: “We’ve come to realise that, with the outcome of the trial as it stands, something needs to change.

“He is worth much more than this and we’ve been thinking for some time that something needs to be brought in to protect our police officers.

“They are going out day after day and they are putting themselves into terrible dangers – I think about the officers that were there that evening when Andrew lost his life and the things that they see and the things that they have to cope with.

“Then they just get their uniform on, and off they go time and time again, and if somebody doesn’t stand up and look after them when there’s an injury or somebody’s killed – we see from this experience that they are not being protected.

“There’s nobody looking out for them and we aim to change that.”

Mrs Adlam added: “So we’re looking to bring in a minimum term – 20 years. No parole, no reductions.”

Mrs Harper intends to call for the law change in a high-profile meeting with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Priti Patel in the coming weeks.

She is calling on the public and politicians to back her campaign.

Mrs Harper, who had married the Abingdon-based officer four-weeks before his death, said: “I pledge to my late husband to never stop until I have made a difference that this country clearly needs.

“I vow to stand strong and firm with so many other honourable people in our country to make the changes that we clearly know to be justified.”

Read more: mum of PC Harper welcomes killers sentencing review

John Apter, national chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: “We fully support Lissie and her campaign to seek a change in the law. Andrew was brutally killed, leaving his wife, loved ones, colleagues and the nation devastated.

“The killing of a police officer should see those responsible face the rest of their lives in prison.

“This campaign would be Andrew’s legacy and we will continue to support Lissie in her efforts to seek justice and change the law for the greater good.”

Mrs Harper added: “No one should have to give their life for their job.”

On Tuesday, the Attorney General’s Office confirmed that it has been asked to consider if the jail terms handed down are too lenient.

They have 28 days to decide.