В Великобритании обсуждают досрочное освобождение убийц полицейского Эндрю Харпера после 13 лет заключения

Fury over PC Andrew Harper's killers shows how far UK justice has fallen OPINION - JUDY FINNIGAN: It's well worth contrasting this case with one from yesteryear. Richard writes here today about the near-collapse of the criminal justice system in 2026, with police killers being considered for early release after barely six years inside. Times have certainly changed. This week saw the 60th anniversary of what became known as the Shepherd’s Bush Murders. It was, in its own way, just as appalling as the horrific slaying of PC Andrew Harper, dragged to his death behind a car carrying three thieves. In 1966, three police officers approached a suspicious car parked close to Wormwood Scrubs prison. As in the Harper case, three villains sat inside. But they were armed, opened fire, and all three helpless officers were shot dead on the spot. Their murderers were caught and convicted. And here’s where the comparison gets interesting. One killer, given life, died in jail. Another was only released after a quarter of a century. The third – the gang ringleader – served 48 years before tottering out in 2014. Met Police chief Sir Mark Rowley, speaking at a memorial to the three officers on Wednesday, compared the sentences to those given to two of PC Harper’s killers, who received tariffs of just 13 years apiece. Which means that whatever happens over their possible early release because of prison overcrowding, they’ll be let out anyway when they’ve served just half their time. Single-figure sentences for killing a policeman. This week PC Harper’s mother, Debbie, spoke of her anguish as the debate over whether the low-lifes found guilty of her son’s manslaughter would be released exceptionally early flip-flopped from yes, to maybe not, to yes, and back to maybe not again. Andy Burnham’s indecision has been utter torture for this poor woman. She is wrung out. What did she – or Andrew’s wife of just a few days, Lissie – do to deserve this? This ghastly saga has been a national disgrace. As far as one can tell, PC Harper’s two killers WILL probably stay in jail for a year or two. Back in the days of the Shepherd’s Bush murders, they’d have been old men before they were free. How can this possibly be true? Don't get me wrong. I’m a huge JK Rowling fan and devoured all her Harry Potter books. But there are fans, and then there are fans. What to make of the JK aficionados who have been part of a great uprising against plans to use Freshwater West beach in Pembrokeshire as the landing point for a major cable between Britain and Ireland? It’s the location for the burial scene of house elf Dobby. Er... he’s not real. HE’S NOT THERE. But the protesters have won and the engineers have had to move the cable elsewhere, out of respect. Er... it’s a bit bonkers, isn’t it? Duh! Well of course dogs can read emotions in your face. Who didn’t know that? Why did we need scientists at the University of Vienna, using MRI scans to monitor dogs’ brain activity as they reacted to human expressions, to tell us? I mean, duh. Dogs have been bred to live with and love humans for thousands of years. Of course they’ve evolved to understand our expressions, and tone of voice. I remember the day my father gave my younger brother a major telling-off and sent him to his room. Sam, my mother’s beloved Chow, watched the whole encounter silently from the corner of the room. A minute or two later, my brother heard scratching on his bedroom door. He opened it, and it was Sam, come to comfort him. As my brother sat sadly on the side of his bed, Sam snuggled up beside him, licked his face, and settled down, paws firmly in my brother’s lap. Of course dogs understand us humans. Sometimes rather better than we do ourselves.