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Criminal Law (Amendment) (Protection of Property) Bill

I am sorry that the hon. Gentleman thinks that I am causing offence. I disagree with him on the issue, but for perfectly logical reasons. He has a view of the Bill and I have a very different view. The hon. Gentleman’s Bill would introduce the Oklahoma law, which would allow a householder to use whatever force he wanted to use against the burglar. There would be no arguments about disproportionate force or any other force. I shall talk about the Oklahoma law and its consequences shortly. The best advice should be always to phone the police. Best advice also is, generally speaking, not to mix it with the burglar if that can possibly be avoided.