Police officers killed after fake 999 call recognized with new award

Two police officers killed after responding to a hoax 999 call are among more than 30 public servants to be honored with a new award.

PCs Nicola Hughes, 23, and Fiona Bone, 32, were killed in a gun and grenade attack while responding to what they thought was a burglary in Manchester in 2012.

Her fathers Bryn Hughes and Paul Bone, who campaigned for their daughter’s official recognition, have now received an Elizabethan Emblem, which recognizes police officers and other public servants who have died in the line of duty.

Mr Bone, from Pool in Wharfedale, West Yorkshire, said every public sector worker who died in the line of duty “should have the opportunity to be remembered and honoured”.

Mr Hughes said: “I think this is vitally important, not just for Nicola and Fiona and other police officers, but for all public sector workers killed or killed in the line of duty or in operational circumstances.”

This honor is the civilian equivalent of the Elizabeth Cross, which recognizes members of the United Kingdom’s armed forces who have died in action or as a result of a terrorist attack.

Mr Hughes said politicians had told him the award was “long overdue”, adding that it was “surprising it hadn’t happened before”.

Both fathers met with the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden, on Wednesday. Mr Bone said the meeting was the “icing on the cake” for their campaign.

She said Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told them he “couldn’t imagine losing their child”.

He added: “We responded: ‘We weren’t actually dreaming of losing ours either, but once that happens, you have to move on.'”

The emblem’s design features a rosemary wreath surrounding the Tudor Crown, a traditional symbol of remembrance, and the inscription “For a Life Served”.

Asked what his daughter would think of the award, Mr Hughes said: “I know Nicola will be embarrassed.

“I think he would have been pleased and proud that this had happened to us, but I think he would have been embarrassed by it.”

Mr Bone said he wanted his daughters to be remembered as “happy, cheerful public servants”, adding that “they were happily doing their job, trying to help people – everything went wrong that day.”

Mr Hughes, from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, said his daughter Nicola “loves the job”.

He added: “Police officers put their lives on the line every day. They don’t know what they’re getting into.

“They don’t know what’s behind that door, and that to me says a lot about what they do every day.”

Miss Hughes and Miss Boneb were ambushed by Dale Cregan while responding to a 999 call in Hattersley, Manchester. They thought they were at the scene of a theft. It was later revealed that Cregan had made the call himself.

Also known is police officer Andrew Harper, who died while responding to a burglary in Berkshire in August 2019.

Just four weeks after their marriage, she was caught by a strap tied to the back of a car and dragged along a country road.

His widow, Lissie Harper, received the award.

The daughter of West Midlands Fire Brigade firefighter Leslie Marsh will be awarded the Emblem, 75 years after she fell to her death through a hole in the first floor of an abandoned church while fighting a blaze on February 7, 1949.

Starmer said: “We must never forget those who gave their lives in the line of duty to protect others.

“While families will never be able to replace their loved ones, the Elizabeth Emblem commemorates the sacrifice they made.”

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