Clause 1 - Amendment of the Criminal Law Act 1967
Criminal Law (Amendment) (Householder Protection) Bill
2:45 pm
Mr Harry Cohen (Leyton and Wanstead, Labour)
I understand that, and I appreciate the hon. Gentleman’s statement. There is no doubt, however, that this drive for a change in the law arises from the Tony Martin case and the sympathy expressed by the then Leader of the Opposition and Opposition Front-Bench Members for at least certain aspects of his case. The hon. Gentleman is right, however, that his Bill does not fully address the issue raised by that case. My amendment draws to the attention of the Committee the fact that the issue is partly whether the burglar and the householder are on or off the premises, and whether we are talking about a house or other building.
Tony Martin waited to entrap the burglars; he had a shotgun and meant to kill them. That was excessive force; even under the Bill, it would probably be seen as disproportionate force, although he would have a better chance of getting off. My understanding is that he shot at Brendan Fearon when he was running off the premises, and that is very pertinent to the amendment: Brendan Fearon was off the premises when Tony Martin shot him.