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Criminal Law (Amendment) (Protection of Property) Bill

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Sir Nicholas was a Conservative Member. The next case is that of a Mr. Williamson. In August 1994, he disturbed a burglar and stabbed him in the neck with a kitchen knife. He was not prosecuted because it was considered that that was reasonable force. Then there is the case of Mr. Lyon, who was cleared of attempted murder and wounding after firing his shotgun at a man he thought was about to burgle his allotment shed. He was convicted of a lesser charge of unlawful wounding, but the Bill would have given him no help because he was not defending a building within the Theft Act definition. Even under the Bill, that would still be considered grossly disproportionate force bearing in mind the action that he took in the situation that he faced, a context similar to that in the Tony Martin case. John Pritchett was cleared of wounding two burglars who had broken into his wine store after he opened fire on them with a 12-bore shotgun. He shot them, but it was reasonable force. In November 1995, Mr. Richards shot at a thief who was fleeing into trees with the intention of scaring him off. He was cleared under the existing law of reasonable force but I suspect that the Bill would not help him because the incident did not occur in a building and he was not acting in self-defence or to protect property but to scare people off. In January 1996, David Kent was cleared after shooting a suspected burglar in the neck. Mr. Kent told the court that he feared for his life when he fired his shotgun after the assailant lunged at him. He was cleared under the reasonable force law. I will not go into the facts of the Tony Martin case because they have been explained in great detail today, but the hon. Members for Newark and for Vale of York and every Conservative Member have said that even under the Bill Tony Martin would have been dealt with, so they cannot pray that case in aid. Kenneth Hall shot a thief who was stealing from his car. He was acquitted in 1996. That was reasonable force, but, more importantly, it was not in a building and would therefore not have been covered by the Bill. In March 1998, Ted Newbery shot and injured an intruder through the door of his allotment shed. He was acquitted under reasonable force and would not have gained any protection from the Bill because it was not a building.