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Criminal Law (Amendment) (Protection of Property) Bill

Some extremely interesting points have been raised so far. Before I start to make my points, as best I can, I would like to pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for North Thanet (Mr. Gale), who introduced the issue in the first place. I also congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Vale of York (Miss McIntosh), who has added tremendously to the Bill that I tried, unsuccessfully, to introduce at the beginning of this year. The Bill before us today contains a number of provisions that are considerably better than those in my Bill, particularly proposed new subsection (1C), which clears up the misapprehensions—which I was partly responsible for broadcasting—about the difference between these provisions and those in the Theft Act 1968. I also want to pay tribute to the hon. Member for North Down (Lady Hermon)—who, sadly, is unable to be present today—for the points that she made in Committee on the parts of my Bill that pertained to Northern Ireland. I think that I am unique in that I am the only person in the Chamber today who knows and has spoken on many occasions to Mr. Brendon Fearon. Let me remind the court—I mean the House—of the Tony Martin case. When it came to light, it enlivened the whole of my constituency. The two boys who went to try to burgle Tony Martin’s farm both came from the crime-ridden estate of Hawtonville, in the north of my constituency. One of them, Brendon Fearon, survives today, despite having sustained gunshot wounds to his left buttock. The other, Fred Barras is, in my view quite wrongly, in his grave. There is no doubt in my mind that Fred Barras was a criminal and that he should have been deterred. Nor is there any doubt in my mind that his victim could have used a number of methods to stop him burgling his farm. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind, however, that both young men were assaulted in a grossly disproportionate way, and one of them was murdered but should today be alive and—if I can be forgiven the phrase—kicking. The fact remains that the individual who convinced me of the rectitude of what I tried to do unsuccessfully earlier this year was Mr. Brendon Fearon. He has a long criminal record and he continues to offend. When it became clear to that excellent organ, the Newark Advertiser, that I was going to introduce my Bill, it went to interview Brendon Fearon. It knew quite well that he was certain to be found at the magistrates court, which is exactly where it found him. It put the case to him by saying, ““If our Member of Parliament manages to introduce this Bill, what effect would it have on you as a persistent offender?”” A number of Labour Members, from a sedentary position, have referred to the fact that if Conservative Members thought that criminals would be deterred, we were living in cloud cuckoo land. Mr. Brendon Fearon said that if the Bill were introduced, it would deter him, and would stop him committing the crimes of which he has been convicted on many occasions. When I introduced the Bill, it seemed that I had the support of the Prime Minister. I will not bore the House by going through the Prime Minister’s precise words, but he changed his tune after a little while. It also seemed that I had—hardly, on mature reflection—the support of the brand spanking new Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Ian Blair. He also changed his tune after a matter of hours.