You always hope it won’t happen to you, but what would you do if you confronted burglars in your home, how far would you go to defend yourself, your loved ones and your property? Tony Martin set the agenda 
on this, but it is still far from resolved. At the moment you can use “reasonable 
force”, but this has resulted in unfair prosecutions for acting in self-defence.
Tory rising star Shailesh Vara believes the law should be changed so only those deemed to have used “grossly disproportionate force” are prosecuted. Previous similar attempts do not appear to have been successful.
He is seeking to introduce a Private Members’ Bill in Parliament and says:
“It is important to have proper and clear law in the area of householders dealing with intruders. The law here is completely outdated and in need of reform.
“I believe that most people will agree that individuals should have the right to defend their home and family from intruders, and that this may, on occasions, require the use of force. The present wording of being allowed to use ‘reasonable force’ has resulted in some people being prosecuted when all they have done is to act in self-defence. By changing the law, to a test of a person using ‘grossly disproportionate force,’ seems much more appropriate, as well as making the law clearer for the police and Crown Prosecution Service to interpret.
“My Bill has cross party support and I hope that there will be a reasoned and sensible debate on the subject. I hope this long overdue reform is passed into law.�
It all comes down to how a court of law defines “reasonable” and “grossly disproportionate force”, do you feel householders need more legal rights and clearer definitions on what action they can take to protect themselves and their homes from intruders? If Shailesh has cross party support, maybe he will swing it this time. It must be a truly terrifying experience to confront a burglar, and householders want more rights, a local newspaper poll showed that nine out of 10 voters were in support, as well as these radio listeners. Are you in support of Shailesh’s proposed amendment too?
It’s time to break off from blogging for a while as I have to catch up with many Christmas preparations. I must also write two academic papers for my PR diploma over the festive break, isn’t it cruel making us work hard like that over the hols!
