Top Tory launches right to kill burglars Bill

by JONATHAN OLIVER, Mail on Sunday

Last updated at 17:22 05 December 2004


People confronting burglars would be given the right to defend their families and property even if that means killing the intruders, under proposed new legislation to be debated in the Commons.

New rights in a Private Member's Bill, which is likely to secure wide all-party support, would mean householders facing prosecution only if they use "grossly excessive" force.

The move will embarrass Labour, which has tried to kick the issue of victims' rights into the long grass with a review unlikely to report for another 18 months.

It comes after Sir John Stevens, Britain's most senior police officer, last week spoke in favour of urgent reform of the murder laws. Currently, householders may only use "reasonable force" to defend their homes. This has led to confusion among the public, with critics arguing the law is weighted too much in favour of the intruder.

'Rebalance the law'

Without Government support, the Bill is unlikely to become law. But the legislation will certainly be allotted Parliamentary time because it is being sponsored by the MP who came top of last week's ballot for Private Members' Bills.

Even having to discuss the issue in the Commons will be a defeat for Tony Blair, who has been quietly hoping that the popular outcry about the rights of burglary victims would not feature in the run-up to next year's likely General Election.

The Bill's chief backer, Tory MP for Newark Patrick Mercer, said the rights of victims urgently needed to be clarified.

"The purpose of this Bill is so that, if an intruder is killed or injured in someone's private home, the presumption is that the householder has acted within his or her rights,' he told The Mail on Sunday.

"Mr Mercer denied the legalisation would be a 'Tony Martin law' - exonerating the Norfolk farmer who shot and killed a 16-year-old burglar five years ago.

"Tony Martin shot and killed one of my constituents and injured another," he said. "So I know there are instances where excessive force has been used.

"I wish to rebalance the law in favour of the victim rather than the aggressor. Tony Martin used grossly excessive force. Not only did he shoot a person in the back, he used an illegal weapon. This law would certainly not pardon Tony Martin."

'Use what force is necessary'

The Bill has official Conservative backing and is likely to attract the support of many Labour backbenchers who receive angry letters from constituents about the issue.

Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said: "We think Sir John Stevens is absolutely right that the law needs to be rebalanced in favour of the victim and the perpetrator."

Sir John, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, has revealed growing disquiet among officers about the current state of the law.

"My own view is that people should be allowed to use what force is necessary and that they should be allowed to do so without any risk of prosecution," he said. "There's a definite feeling around when I go out on the beat with officers and talk to members of the public that we need clarity in the law."

The debate follows a spate of high-profile violent burglaries. Last week, businessman John Monckton, 49, was stabbed to death by burglars at his £3million house in Chelsea. His wife, Homeyra was repeatedly stabbed and was in hospital last night recovering from a life-saving operation. The couple were found by their nine-year-old daughter after the attack.

The Government would not yesterday-be drawn on how it would respond to the Private Member's Bill. A Home Office spokesman said: "We are having a review. The core of the review will concern the way the law on murder works and its interfaces with manslaughter.

"No decisions have been taken and no avenues closed off."

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