"You will inevitably spend the rest of your life in custody."
Piran Ditta Khan received a life sentence for the 2005 murder of PC Sharon Beshenivsky when she was shot dead in an armed robbery.
After her death in Bradford, Khan fled the UK.
Khan – who was the mastermind of the armed robbery – was extradited from Pakistan in April 2023 and was found guilty of murder.
He was the last of seven men to face justice.
PC Beshenivsky was shot dead after responding to reports of a raid at Universal Express travel agents on Morley Street on November 18, 2005 – the day her daughter Lydia turned four.
Her colleague PC Teresa Milburn was also shot but survived.
Khan denied knowing about the robbery plot, or that weapons were going to be used.
He claimed an associate had merely offered to get back £12,000 owed to him by the owner of the travel agents.
But prosecutors said Khan played a “pivotal” role in planning the raid and gave instructions to the others.
The jury heard he remained in a lookout car during the robbery, but the prosecution said he was as guilty “as surely as if he had pulled the trigger himself”.
Robert Smith KC, prosecuting, said the robbery involved “a substantial degree of unnecessary violence”.
Mr Smith said: “The defendant was present, waiting nearby and was instrumental in giving instructions to enter the premises and carrying out the intended robbery.
“In doing so, he knew they would be carrying the weapons in question, loaded with ammunition and he shared the common intention with them to shoot any person who sought to obstruct them and get their arrest.”
Between 2006 and 2009, six men were jailed for their part in the events leading to PC Sharon Beshenivsky’s death.
Khan evaded justice for more than 14 years before his arrest in January 2020.
As well as murder, he was convicted of two counts of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life and two counts of having prohibited firearms.
He had previously pleaded guilty to robbery.
Now aged 75, Khan received a life sentence and must serve a minimum of 40 years.
Judge Mr Justice Hillard told him: “No sentence I pass can put right what you have done.
“You will inevitably spend the rest of your life in custody.”
In a statement, Sharon Beshenivsky’s daughter, Lydia, said:
“I have little to no memory of my mum and growing up I have had to hear of her friends and family talking about her and things she liked to do.
“She went to work that day and never came home. I often think she was a hero that day and paid the ultimate sacrifice.
“Since that day and throughout my life there has always been a void but as a result of the violence and callous actions you Piran Ditta Khan and associates you did that day, you robbed me of a future with my mum.
“Every birthday is a reminder of that day.
“Recently it has been Mother’s Day and my friends celebrated with their mums, and sadly I can’t do that.”
In a statement given by police outside court, PC Beshenivsky’s family said:
“November 2005 was the start of an almost 19-year journey.
“A journey seeking the truth and justice for Sharon, who was not just a police officer, but a loving mum, wife, daughter, sister, and a friend to many.
“Our journey seeking justice and closure of the judicial process is now at an end.
“This journey has and continues to be difficult for us all.
“Enduring several trials over the years has been hard, each one of them taking us back to the very beginning, which made us feel like we had lost Sharon all over again.
“And now we once again pick up the pieces of our lives and continue forward as Sharon would have wanted us all to do.”
Assistant Chief Constable Patrick Twiggs, of West Yorkshire Police, said:
“This is a day of mixed emotions.
“On the one hand, we are pleased to get the final conviction in this case, but on the other hand, we are sad as it has brought into sharp focus the completely unnecessary waste of life that day.
“For 18 years we have never given up on getting justice for Sharon and Teresa, and today their families have received that justice.”
“Sharon was murdered in the line of duty, in what was a totally unnecessary act. Sharon was doing her job and protecting the public.
“The pain and anguish of what happened on that day and the profound sense of loss, will come flooding back to her family, friends, police and the local community. It was a day we will never forget.
“West Yorkshire Police will continue to honour Sharon’s memory, we still mourn the loss, we still miss her, she will be forever in our thoughts.”
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