'Harper's Law' comes into force after bill receives Royal Assent

A law which will give mandatory life sentences to the killers of emergency workers has become statute after receiving Royal Assent.

Harper’s Law – named after PC Andrew Harper, 28, who was dragged to his death in West Berkshire in August 2019 – is part of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (PSCS) Act.

PC Harper’s widow, Lissie, has been campaigning for the law since his killers were jailed for manslaughter. All were cleared of his murder by a jury after a trial at the Old Bailey.

Henry Long, 19, from College Piece, Mortimer, was sentenced in July 2020 to 16 years, while 18-year-olds Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, from Paices Hill, Aldermaston, and Windmill Corner, Mortimer Common, respectively, were handed 13 years in custody.

The act will bring about “mandatory life sentences for those who kill an emergency worker in the course of their duty”.

It will also double the maximum penalty from 12 months to two years for criminals convicted of assaulting police or other emergency workers.

The law will also apply to prison officers, fire service personnel, and frontline health workers.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “Today is a landmark moment for the people of our country. The measures we promised to introduce to cut crime and make our streets safer are now law."

She added that it would “make sure the very worst criminals are thrown behind bars for the longest possible time”.

Speaking last month, Mrs Harper said she now hopes to “retire” from public life after her successful Harper’s Law campaign.

PC Harper, a Thames Valley Police officer from Wallingford, Oxfordshire, was responding to reports of a quad bike theft in Stanford Dingley on the night of his death.

His foot got caught in a strap attached to the back of a car driven by Long and he was dragged to his death down a winding country road as Long, Cole and Bowers fled the scene.

The tragedy occurred just four weeks after his wedding.