Now legal aid cash for PC Harper’s smirking killers balloons to... £720,000
THE amount of taxpayerfunded legal aid handed to the killers of hero policeman Andrew Harper has rocketed to £720,000.
The incredible sum was paid to solicitors and barristers defending the three teenagers who dragged the newlywed constable to his death behind a car for more than a mile.
It was revealed in August, shortly after the killers were convicted, that their legal aid bill had hit more than £465,000.
But now that figure has spiralled as they fight a series of appeals. Lawyers for gang ringleader Henry Long, 19, were paid £253,588.
His accomplices Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, both 18, had separate legal teams who were paid £199,720 and £208,409 respectively.
A further £2,720 went on legal representation for all three at the police station after their initial arrest.
Also included are ‘ disbursements’ of more than £61,000. These are usually paid to expert witnesses, including psychiatrists, who have been commissioned by the defence teams.
The total footed by the taxpayer comes to £726,248.79 – which will rise yet further because it does not include the cost of the appeals.
The huge sums raise new questions about the legal aid system. In August the officer’s widow Lissie said she was ‘horrified’ by the initial figure, adding: ‘Not only did we not get justice for Andrew, we now know the cost of that injustice.’
She has launched a campaign for a change in the law to see all criminals serve longer sentences if they are convicted of killing an emergency worker.
The three killers showed no remorse after dragging Thames Valley officer PC Harper, 28, to his death during a police chase in Sulhamstead, Berkshire, last year. They were all spared life sentences for the crime and could be back on the streets in as little as eight years.
Long, who told police he ‘didn’t give a f*** about any of this’ when he was initially charged, was jailed for 16 years in July this year. Judge Mr Justice Edis warned that if Long were left on the streets it would only be a ‘ matter of time’ before someone else died.
Bowers and Cole, who have learning difficulties, were each jailed for 13 years. All three were acquitted of murder.
The group will have to serve at least two-thirds of their jail terms. But the sentences are the subject of two separate legal appeals.
Attorney General Suella Braverman referred them to the Court of the Appeal for being ‘unduly lenient’. Simultaneously, Bowers and Cole have lodged challenges against their manslaughter convictions.
A combined judgment on the appeal and the defendants’ separate challenge is due to be handed down today.
It is not known what period is covered by the legal aid sum disclosed so far, but a Ministry of Justice spokesman said: ‘As at the time of writing, no information is held in respect of appeal costs.’
‘Showed no remorse’