Debbie Adlam, the mother of PC Andrew Harper, has revealed she cannot bring herself to look at images of her son's killers laughing, describing them as sickening.
PC Harper, 28, died in 2019 after being dragged behind a getaway car driven by three teenagers fleeing the scene of a quad bike theft. His mother appeared on ITV's Good Morning Britain to discuss the government's early release scheme, which could see two of the killers released early.
Host raises the images
Presenter Richard Madeley referenced the widely seen images of the killers laughing and joking as they left court, asking how much that had added to her pain. He said: "The images that we've all seen and I'm sure you've seen of Andrew's killers laughing and joking as they left the courtroom to be taken back to prison before the next day's hearing turns the stomach. How much more has that rubbed horrible salt into your already deep wounds about this? Their demeanour, their behaviour."
Debbie replied: "I can't look at those pictures now. I mean they pop up all the time but I just look away as soon as I see them. But I'm, you know, I've sat through every day in that court. I saw it going on at the time. So, you know, it's sickening. But it's, in a way it just adds, it's their own, they're damaging themselves in that way. That wasn't something we did. They did that to themselves. So what people think about them is their fault."
Sentences and early release
Three people received prison sentences after PC Harper's death. Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole were each jailed for 13 years, and Henry Long was jailed for 16 years.
The case returned to the news after it emerged that Bowers and Cole could become eligible for early release under a scheme aimed at easing prison overcrowding. However, it has been reported that Prime Minister Andy Burnham has asked the justice secretary to find a way to keep them in prison.
Fight continues
Debbie said on the show that she had heard from Downing Street: "It was the Chief of Staff called me to say that Andy Burnham is trying to do everything that he can and he's feeling more confident basically that you know something can be done. But the fight goes on, nothing's been done, nothing's been found yet. So until it happens, you know, here we sit."
