PC Andrew Harper died when he suffered catastrophic injuries after a road traffic incident in 2019. There were fifteen key police witnesses and one of the first officers on the scene was Inspector Andy Fiddler, who was a friend of Andrew Harper.
Andy and PC Harper’s widow Lissie (they had only been married for four weeks) began a tireless campaign to introduce a new law that would give emergency workers greater protection from violent criminals. Students from Years 10-13 were privileged to hear Inspector Fiddler talk about how he set about drafting the law, what motivated him, what the challenges were and how it became the quickest law to ever be passed by Parliament.
There were three main goals at the outset: to fundraise, get government support and engage a media team. Andy explained that media exposure was key, and not something that Lissie Harper found easy, but he cited how examples such as interviews with the Daily Mail and ITV’s Good Morning Britain and social media support from Piers Morgan hugely raised public awareness and helped the law gain traction.
Students learnt about the political ladder that needed to be climbed and the various unions and organisations who came on board. The counter argument, which was also given by the House of Lords, was why should the emergency services be treated any differently from anyone else. The response was that emergency workers put their lives at risk to protect and save others and prevent crimes, and should therefore be afforded extra protection. With the backing of the then Home Secretary Priti Patel and Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, Harper’s Law was passed on 28 June 2022 introducing mandatory life sentences for those who kill an emergency worker in the course of their duty.
It was inspiring to hear of the journey and the role that Inspector Fiddler played in implementing such an important change in memory of his friend.
Categories: General News Year 10 Year 11 Year 12 Year 13
