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PC Andrew Harper's Widow Lissie Opens Up On Heartbreaking Verdict For The First Time

PC Andrew Harper's Widow Lissie Opens Up On Heartbreaking Verdict For The First Time

Lissie said she was 'totally surprised and disappointed' at the verdict.

Lucy Devine

Lucy Devine

PC Andrew Harper's widow, Lissie Harper, has opened up about the tragic death of her husband and the heartbreaking verdict given to his killers.

Lissie, 29, said she was "totally surprised and disappointed" that her husband's killers - Henry Long, 19, Jessie Cole, 18 and Albert Bowers, also 18 - were handed a verdict of manslaughter as opposed to murder, following trial at the Old Bailey last month.

As a result of the verdict, Lissie has launched Harper's Law, a campaign calling for killers of emergency workers - including police officers, firefighters, doctors, prison officers or paramedics - to face a minimum sentence of life in prison for their crimes.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast this morning, Lissie said: "[Andrew and I] would constantly say that we're a team and that we could get through anything together.

"We were constantly laughing and joking and just kind of best friends to be honest. We just liked being together, and my life is different in every single way that it could be.

"[His death was] such a barbaric and remorseless act, this is a situation where people have gone out to commit a crime and they've been immensely careless, not having regard for other people's lives; that's something that I will have to live with forever."

Andrew was tragically killed last August (
PA)

Speaking about the perpetrators' reactions in court, Lissie added: "You do expect a certain level of remorse, and there wasn't any, and that was very hard to cope with and to witness.

"It was a real ordeal for all of us, it was just a battle getting [to court] every day and sitting through it, so to see them joking around as if they could have been anywhere was unbearable."

Lissie described the verdicts as "heartbreaking" explaining that - despite the "awful and long journey" - she thought they may get some justice for Andrew.

"I had the defendants on my left not really caring what I was saying but I felt it important to speak directly to the judge and tell him what they'd taken from us," she said.

"We had the sense that, although it was going to be an awful and long journey, at the end of it we might at least get some justice for Andrew.

"So at the end of it, to not get any real justice is heartbreaking."

Lissie and Andrew had been married just four weeks (
Family handout)

Andrew was just 28 at the time of his death. He had been responding to reports of a quad bike theft in Berkshire last August.

While trying to apprehend one suspect, Andrew was tragically dragged for over a mile through country lanes, after becoming tangled in a rope attached to the vehicle the teenagers were using for their getaway.

Last week, Long, Cole and Bowers were cleared of murder and instead convicted of manslaughter. Long received a sentence of 16 years imprisonment, with three years on extended licence.

Meanwhile, Bowers and Cole each received 13 years imprisonment. Thomas King - who was charged with conspiring to steal a quad bike - was sentenced to two years imprisonment.

Lissie is hoping to meet with Boris Johnson to discuss Harper's Law (
Lissie Harper)

Lissie is now hoping to meet with Prime Minister, Boris Johnson and Home Secretary, Priti Patel to discuss her campaign.

Meanwhile, the Attorney General's Office has been asked to review the killers' sentences and has until Friday 28th August to decide if they should be reviewed by the Court of Appeal.

"I constantly felt that [Andrew] had my back and that's why Harper's Law is so important for me. I want to do it for him," added Lissie.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: News, News