Police officer ‘forgot to show his physique worn digital camera on’ when he fatally struck grandmother, 81, as he ran a crimson gentle whereas escorting the Duchess of Edinburgh, court docket hears

A Met Police officer forgot to turn on his body-worn camera before he killed a grandmother while escorting the Duchess of Edinburgh, a court heard.

Christopher Harrison, 68, was riding his BMW motorcycle in a motorcade for the royal when he struck 81-year-old Helen Holland in Earl’s Court, west London.

He sped through a red light at a pedestrian crossing at up to 58mph on West Cromwell Road, which had a 30mph speed limit at the time, the Old Bailey heard.

Ms Holland, a mother of four, suffered serious injuries in the crash that took place on May 10, 2023, and died in hospital two weeks later.

The convoy consisted of the car containing Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, a police backup vehicle and four motorbike outriders.

PC Harrison, who has pleaded not guilty to causing death by careless driving, was interviewed by officers from the Independent Office for Police Conduct on July 18 2023, jurors were told.

He said his body-worn footage was not on the day of the crash because he forgot to turn it on.

PC Harrison said while driving, he was mindful of the need to impede other members of the public as little as possible and keep an eye on any motorists.

He said he was watching a blue sports car as he approached the pedestrian crossing, as it was moving very quickly.

PC Harrison said: ‘The light was red and had been for some time and I also noticed people had crossed the road in that time.

‘I approach the crossing still not accelerating because I’m coming across a crossing with a red light.

‘As I came forward I’m also listening to colleagues and forming a plan of what I’m going to do. I’m also looking behind, aware of traffic behind.

‘As I approach the crossing, literally I had no vision of anyone approaching the crossing.

‘There was no one at the crossing but then from nowhere someone appeared and I could see it looked like a collision was about to occur, so I braked as hard as I could and moved as far as I can to the left.

‘Then, as I come to the crossing, I’ve collided with the lady.’

He said that because the lights had been red for some time and people had crossed, he thought it was clear, but he knew someone could still cross.

PC Harrison said he was not speeding up as much as he would have if the crossing was not there.

‘It was as if she was there on the road almost from nowhere,’ he said. ‘I didn’t see her on the footway at all on approach. I had no vision of her on the footway.

PC Harrison said he was not distracted. He said he would not look at the speedometer and would rely on his own judgement.

The officer said he would slow down when passing the ‘principal’, meaning the person he was protecting, to avoid disturbing them.

Johnathan Moody, Lancashire Police’s deputy chief training instructor, who was called in by the IOPC to look into the incident, said: ‘It is not what I would expect a competent rider to do.’

Mr Moody – who looked at interviews, transcripts and body-worn footage – told the court: ‘Generally for the 15 minutes of the escort, most of the junctions and hazards were dealt with as I would expect.

‘Unfortunately, for the final feature – the red light – I would have expected a working bike to have stopped for that feature.’

He said ‘the majority’ of the escort ‘was done as I would expect of a competent rider’ trained to the appropriate levels except ‘the last few seconds at that crossing’.

PC Harrison was among the team of convoy motorcycle outriders that was escorting Sophie as she left the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office in King Charles Street just after 3pm.

As part of a designated police escort team, they are legally allowed in certain circumstances to exceed the speed limit, pass red lights and drive on the wrong side of the road to try and move.

Using these exemptions must be done safely and with minimal risk to the public, the court heard.

Along the journey, the priority of the team – who are assessing hazards and potential threat – is to try and keep the convoy moving.

The two working escort motorcycles ahead of Harrison had gone through the crossing by the time he arrived at the scene. The previous rider passed at 3.20pm, just as the light turned red.

Harrison, who was up-to-date with his legal training, could have acted differently with the information the light had turned red, according to Mr Moody.

He said: ‘The final sole motorcycle working bike I would have expected him to have controlled that crossing by stopping at the red light.’

On whether Harrison was slowing down, Mr Moody said: ‘From the footage I have seen, it did not appear so – but it is difficult to work out speed.’

He expected the riders may have used their whistles as their body-worn footage showed they had been used in other parts of the journey.

He told the court that slowing down and stopping could have been used to ‘prevent members of the public from using the crossing’.

The prosecution say Harrison’s driving was careless and he is guilty of causing death by careless driving.

Ms Holland was 2.9 metres into the crossing when Harrison’s motorbike hit her, the court heard.

Prosecutor Michelle Heeley KC previously said Harrison, who was travelling between 44mph and 58mph as he approached the light, ‘was allowed to exceed the speed limit but he still had a duty to drive carefully’.

She said: ‘Mrs Holland was entitled to be crossing then, Mr Harrison knew that the light for traffic, for him, was red, and so he should have taken care when driving through the red light.

‘But he did not stop and he did not see Mrs Holland, which is why he drove straight into her.

‘He should have seen her, he should have expected there to be pedestrians and thus modified his driving somehow, but he didn’t, and that is why the prosecution say he was driving carelessly at that point.’

PC Harrison said he joined the police in 1982, spending seven years as an officer at Dagenham Police Station before moving into the traffic department.

He became an escort officer in 2002.

PC Harrison said he has to complete a bleep test every year to continue in the role.

The officer said he had not drunk alcohol for a week before the crash, and he has no previous convictions or cautions.

Defence barrister Edmund Gritt said PC Harrison will give evidence in court tomorrow morning.

The Duchess of Edinburgh, 60, has been married to Prince Edward since 1999.

PC Harrison, of Billericay, Essex, denies causing death by careless driving.

The trial continues.