PC’s widow urges murder retrial

PC Andrew Harper’s widow has written to the prime minister to ask for a retrial after her husband’s teenage killers were cleared of murder.

Lissie Harper had been married to PC Harper for just a month when he was killed by Henry Long, 19, Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, both 18, as they tried to steal a quad bike.

PC Harper, 28, was dragged for more than a mile along the country lanes of Berkshire when he became entangled in a tow rope attached to the teenagers’ getaway car.

An Old Bailey jury acquitted all three defendants of murder on Friday, instead convicting Cole and Bowers of manslaughter. Long had previously pled guilty to the same charge.

In an open letter on her Facebook page on Tuesday evening, Mrs Harper wrote to Boris Johnson, Home Secretary Priti Patel and Lord Blunkett urging them and others “to right such a despicable wrong for our country”.

The original trial was abandoned the day the country went into lockdown in March, while for the retrial Mr Justice Edis ordered extra security measures amid fears of potential juror intimidation by supporters of the defendants.

A female juror was discharged just a day before the remaining 11 started deliberating on their verdicts after she was seen by a prison officer to mouth “Bye boys” to the teenagers in the dock.

The defendants hugged each other after the verdicts were returned.

Long, Cole and Bowers face sentencing tomorrow.