It appears that blatant thuggery has won again in our courts as three teenagers were convicted of the manslaughter of PC Andrew Harper, who died after being dragged along a road by a car. PC Harper suffered catastrophic fatal injuries when his ankles got caught in a strap trailing behind a vehicle driven by Henry Long in August 2019. Speaking outside court, PC Harper's widow, Lissie, said she would feel "heart-wrenching pain" for the rest of her life over the "brutal and senseless killing". Quite rightly, there is a furore over this conviction, which many thought should have been one of murder. Having been a journalist for 17 years, and frequently covered the courts, I know that those not at a hearing don't know the full facts, so it is always wise to be cautious. However, on this occasion, I am tempted to say the jury's got it wrong, or perhaps the law is open to too many interpretations when it comes to horrifying cases like this. Whatever the case, I think this conviction will not help the police, who stand between us and disorder every single day. You can drag a policeman behind a car for over a mile, swerving to throw him off the tow, so the court heard, and get away with murder. My colleague Mike Penning has rightly written to the Attorney General over this case and let's see where that leads. In the meantime, my heartfelt sympathy extends to Mrs Harper. There are no words that can bring comfort to her, family and friends at this dark, dark time. At 0915, I dialled into our weekly conference call with Dorset Council. Over the weeks, this has proved extremely helpful and informative, for both cllrs, their officials and MPs. Today, we spoke about funding, anti-social behaviour, the LEP, traveller sites, and redundancy packages. Afterwards, I took my motorcycle to Allenby Barracks, Bovington, to meet the Commander Armour Centre. As always, it was a great pleasure being among soldiers again, and so many happy memories flooded back in my mind as we toured the barracks, meeting trainers and trainees. Colonel Johnny Brooking hosted the visit and he could not have been kinder or more thoughtful. He gave a informative brief on his command, which extends to some 1,500 personnel, before we took a minibus to several stands to meet soldiers and see the new equipment. Clambering into the new APC, I was staggered at the advances made since I left. The sophistication of both machine and equipment was impressive and the infantry are now far better supported. My last stop was at a simulator for a new vehicle called the Terrier. It's basically a digger used by the Royal Engineers, but has the capability to do many tasks. I was invited to have a go in the simulator and it wasn't long before I was crashing into trees and feeling as sick as a dog! After 10 minutes, I'd had enough and came out feeling very queasy. I admitted this to the entourage who reassured be by saying that a visiting general had felt the same, thankfully! I was very impressed by all that I saw and by all those I met. Morale was clearly high and the camp is well run and increasingly better catered for as investment is made, with more planned. At the end, I chatted for some time in private with Colonel Johnny in the sun outside his HQs. A most enjoyable visit. Plenty more casework kept me busy for the rest of the day.