Harry Roberts, who murdered three police officers in Shepherd’s Bush in 1966 and triggered one of Britain’s largest manhunts, has died aged 89. He died in hospital last Saturday after a short illness, according to the Sun. Roberts had been living in sheltered accommodation in Peterborough since his release on licence in 2014, after serving 48 years in prison.
The murders occurred on 12 August 1966 when Detective Sergeant Christopher Head, 30, Detective Constable David Wombwell, 25, and Police Constable Geoffrey Fox, 41, stopped a van containing Roberts and his associates John Duddy and John Witney. During a routine check, Roberts opened fire without warning, killing Wombwell at the scene, shooting Head in the back, and fatally wounding Fox through the windscreen of an unmarked police car.
The brutality of the attack caused nationwide shock at a time when armed violence against police was exceptionally rare. The killings led to a 96-day search, one of the most extensive in British policing history. Roberts, who used his former military training to evade capture, was eventually found sleeping rough in Hertfordshire. All three men were convicted at the Old Bailey.
Capital punishment had been abolished the previous year, but the judge described the murders as “the most heinous crime for a generation or more” and imposed a life sentence with a minimum tariff of 30 years. Roberts became one of Britain’s most notorious inmates and was repeatedly refused parole. His release in 2014 prompted anger within policing, and news of his death has renewed criticism.
Matt Cane, general secretary of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said: “The three officers murdered by Roberts never got a chance to grow old. The life sentence for their loved ones still continues. Life should mean life if you murder a police officer in the course of their duties – Roberts should never have been freed.”
Duddy and Witney both died years earlier. The case remains a defining reference point in discussions about sentencing, policing and public protection in the UK.
