PC Andrew Harper petition delivered to Downing Street

Today, Thames Valley Police Federation delivered this petition to 10 Downing Street – having been signed by more than one million of you.

We wanted the Government to hear directly, in person, just how many people stood behind this. 

Not as a formality, but because you earned that moment. Every single one of the million-plus signatures on this petition played a part in the decision that was made this week.

The decision to keep PC Andrew Harper’s killers behind bars, rather than release them early, is now confirmed.

That is why today we are formally declaring this campaign a victory.

It shouldn't have taken a petition of this size, an open letter from 50 Chief Constables, and sustained public pressure to reach the right and obvious decision. But it did, and it worked.

Delivering the petition today mattered to us – even though the Government had already announced it planned to change the law. It was our chance to represent the campaign, and your support of it, at the heart of Government.

So thank you. To the million-plus people who signed. To everyone who shared this petition, who messaged us, who wrote to their MP, who simply cared enough to add their name. This is your win as much as it is ours.

PC Andrew Harper gave his life serving his community. We hope that today's outcome, and the wider changes to early release rules that came with it, stand as some small measure of justice – for him, and for every officer who puts themselves in harm's way for the rest of us.

Thank you again, for everything.

Aileen O'Connor,
Chair,
Thames Valley Police Federation