New Year Honours 2023: PC's widow Lissie Harper made MBE

Childhood sweethearts Andrew and Lissie Harper had only been married for a matter of weeks when he was killed

The widow of PC Andrew Harper has been made an MBE for her efforts to get tougher sentences for those who kill emergency workers on duty.

Lissie Harper began a campaign after her husband, who she had married four weeks earlier, was killed on duty in Berkshire in August 2019.

Three people were convicted of manslaughter but cleared of murder.

Harper's Law imposes mandatory life sentences on those who unlawfully kill an emergency worker on duty.

Jessie Cole (l) and Albert Bowers (r) were convicted along with Henry Long (centre) and jailed in July 2020

After the Old Bailey trial, Mrs Harper, from Wallingford in Oxfordshire, wrote an open letter seeking a retrial for murder but all three verdicts and sentences were subsequently upheld by the Court of Appeal.

At the time she voiced her disappointment and said the sentences "do not reflect the severity and barbarity of the crimes they committed".

"I continue to feel let down by our justice system and the inadequate laws that we have in place," she added.

With the support of the Police Federation, she launched an extensive campaign and had high-level meetings with her husband's colleagues and the Lord Chancellor.

It was announced jointly with the then Home Secretary Priti Patel in 2021 that Harper's Law would be brought forward as an amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.

It was passed and the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 gained Royal Assent on 28 April 2022.

Mrs Harper met with the then Home Secretary Priti Patel and told her the "justice system is broken"

In a statement, the government said: "Her personal campaigning in the midst of her grief brought this about and will benefit other families in the future."

Speaking after the law was passed, Mrs Harper said she was ready to "find happiness" in what she hoped would be her last press interview.

"I know for a fact that Andrew would want me to be happy," she said at the time.

'Hell of a journey'

Mrs Harper said she was "very honoured" to be included in the New Year's Honours list.

She said: "It's been a hell of a journey and Harper's Law is a huge achievement in honour of my amazing Andrew.

"I never set out on this campaign with the intention of receiving any recognition, but it really does mean a lot to me and I know that Andrew would be very proud."

She thanked her "incredibly supportive" family and friends and paid special thanks to Andrew Fiddler for helping to achieve Harper's Law.

She added: "Those of you who understand the grief of losing a life partner know that we will never move on but can only aim to move forward in life and turn our heartbreak into something to be proud of and I hope I have at least done that."

PC Harper was four hours over shift when he and a colleague responded to reports of a quad bike theft

Elsewhere in Oxfordshire and Berkshire, 62-year-old Jane Watson is made an MBE for services to sport in recognition of her work leading Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre.

Under her leadership, the centre has become the flagship site for the English Institute of Sport where almost 1,000 athletes have been treated and rehabilitated.

Ms Watson, a former cross country skier who competed in the Calgary 1988 Winter Olympics, also co-ordinates sports, science and medical sciences provision for Olympic and Paralympic athletes, the Army and the Royal Ballet.

Kim James, head of school improvement at Oxfordshire County Council, has been appointed MBE after being credited with helping to minimise school closures during the Covid lockdowns.

She has also been praised for her work to set up a dedicated helpline that provided support to all of the county's schools and academies during the pandemic.