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Lissie Harper said families like hers would no longer have to endure the “pain of injustice” in court. Her Harper’s Law victory follows a string of lenient sentences which enraged relatives and the public.

Newlywed Mrs Harper fought to change the law after Thames Valley traffic officer Andrew, 28, was fatally dragged behind a getaway car by three teenagers fleeing a quad bike theft in 2019.

Henry Long, 19, received just 16 years and Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, both 18, were given 13 years in custody for manslaughter, following the incident in Sulhamstead, Berkshire.

Yesterday, new laws came into force extending mandatory life terms to the manslaughter during a crime of an emergency worker on duty. They include police, prison officers, firefighters and paramedics.

Mrs Harper, 31, said: “Harper’s Law was so needed in our country and we did it.

“Finally, our court systems may see some justice prevail within them. Finally, a law that we can be proud of.

“Andrew believed in fairness and peace. He had the strongest moral compass of anyone I ever met and that is why I know without a shadow of a doubt that he is smiling down at me with pride and love as Harper’s Law, his legacy, is now achieved.”

She added: “Almost three years ago, my husband was robbed of his life and we were both robbed of our future together.

“Nothing will ever change that. This law will not change the outcome for his killers.

“But no longer will a family have to endure the pain of injustice in court as I did those many months ago – and that is a significantly powerful outcome.”

Tougher laws in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act also include making whole-life orders – the most severe punishment available – the starting point for premeditated child murder.

Judges can also impose whole-life terms on 18-20-year-olds guilty of terrorism acts which cause mass fatalities.

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