MicroBalrog
member
EXCLUSIVE: TONY MARTIN ON HIS BID TO BE AN MP: THE LAW'S A MESS ..DECENT PEOPLE NEED RIGHTS Feb 7 2004
By Aidan Mcgurran
TO MANY he's a hero to others a villain and after so much exposure to the harsh glare of public attention you may think Tony Martin would have had enough.
But instead of craving a quiet life tending his Norfolk farm Martin wants to become an MP and change the law which jailed him for killing a teenage burglar.
He was locked up for more than three years and, since winning his freedom last summer, has championed ordinary peoples' rights to defend themselves in their own homes.
Now he wants to stand for Parliament on a manifesto of householder's rights.
He told the Daily Mirror: "Everywhere I go people tell me how they live in fear. But none of the political parties seem prepared to do anything about it. They either don't realise how bad the situation is or don't care.
"I am seriously thinking about standing for Parliament to give ordinary people a voice and to get something done."
Martin standing in a General Election would cause consternation among the main political parties.
His jailing for the shooting of 16-year-old Fred Barras has turned him into a folk hero among many voters - especially in isolated rural areas - and no more so than in the village of Emneth Hungate, West Norfolk, where he lives.
When Martin, 59, was released from jail, he told the Daily Mirror how his farmhouse had been repeatedly targeted by burglars. He also felt the police did little to protect the rural community.
His defence of the right to protect property and his belief that the law was tilted in favour of criminals struck a chord with huge numbers of people nationwide.
Martin hit the headlines when he was prosecuted for murder after he used a shotgun during a botched break-in at his Bleak House farm in August 1999. Another burglar, Brendan Fearon, suffered serious leg wounds in the incident.
There was a massive public outcry when Martin was found guilty at Norwich Crown Court and sentenced to life. The charge and sentence was later reduced on appeal to five years for manslaughter.
The farmer could have been released sooner, but his refusal to express remorse meant he was declared unsuitable for early parole and had to spend another six months behind bars.
Martin's straight talking along with his refusal to apologise has only increased his popularity.
In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mirror, Martin revealed: "All I have ever wanted is to be able to get on with my life quietly.
"But I lost four years because the law is a mess. People say there is no need for a new law but there is. Ordinary, decent people have to be given rights and they have to know exactly what those rights are.
"The main parties don't seem to realise huge numbers of people are being terrorised - they are living in fear in their own homes.
"I've never wanted to be in the spotlight but a lot of people do seem to see me as some sort of champion - even though it's not a role I have ever sought.
"Everywhere I go, people come up to me and tell me about their own experiences. And every time people are asked what they are most concerned about it is always crime and, in particular, break-ins that they talk about.
"Yet the politicians don't seem to care - they are not doing anything to help. I have only begun to think about standing for Parliament recently. But I will only stand if I believe I can make a difference.
"If I decide to seek election, people will know exactly where I stand - I want a return to law and order and decency."
Although Martin has no party machine behind him, he could still pick up a lot of support. Single- issue candidates have made a big impact in British politics over recent years. Martin could stand anywhere, but the North West Norfolk constituency where he lives seems natural territory.
Traditionally, the seat is Tory but in the 1997 landslide it was won for Labour by George Turner before being regained by Conservative Henry Bellingham in 2001.
Bellingham backed Martin while he was in jail, but has recently distanced himself from some of the farmer's more outspoken comments.
Martin could pick up support from supporters of all three main parties, as well as large numbers of floating voters.
Earlier this year, listeners to the BBC's Today programme voted to back the introduction of a Private Members' Bill allowing homeowners to use whatever force they deemed necessary to defend their property - in what has become known as Martin's Law.
Both Radio 4 and Labour MP Stephen Pound, who pledged to put listeners' views to Parliament, were taken aback by the poll.
AFTERWARDS, Pound made his feelings clear. "My enthusiasm for democracy is slightly tempered, to be honest," said the MP for Ealing North.
"I can't remember who it was who said 'The people have spoken - the bastards'. It is quite likely that this bill is unworkable.
"In the end it depends on whether an MP is willing to take it forward. But just because Today listeners come up with the Tony Martin memorial bill doesn't mean it will become law." Aside from developing his political ambitions, Martin has been adjusting to life outside prison.
He has been free for six months, but knows he will never be able to escape his past. After his release he told the Daily Mirror all he wanted to do was to return to farming and his beloved Bleak House and although he is now back on the land, he has yet to set foot in the house.
The once neat Georgian farmhouse is now in such an appalling state it would be a huge task to return it to anything like its former glory.
And these days he barely glances at the property as he passes on his way to work the fields.
He said: "People keep going on and on about Bleak House, but it isn't that important to me anymore. I think I will just leave it exactly as it is - as a monument to people's stupidity." Despite death threats which mean he carries a mobile phone with an alarm button to notify the police, Martin insisted he would not live like a prisoner.
"There is no point being out of jail if you are not really free," he said.
"I don't know about all this talk of contracts, but I do know there are some people out there who would like to have a go at me so I am not deliberately reckless. There are some pubs it probably wouldn't be wise for me to go in.
"A while back some young people invited me to a nightclub in Wisbech - I might be an old man but I still enjoy a bit of fun, so I went.
"Anyway, a week or two later I went back and the fella in charge warned me there were some people inside that I might not want to meet. So I didn't bother going in. People seem obsessed about this idea of me being a recluse, but nothing could be further from the truth - I like company.
"I go and have a meal at a pub most evenings and I talk to all sorts of people in there. I even get some attention from young ladies. I think some of them feel sorry for me because of the time I had to serve in prison and I enjoy the attention.
I MIGHT be getting on, but there is still life in me yet. Over Christmas I got asked to dance by a few of them and they didn't have to ask twice.
I had a very nice time - it's very pleasant to have a smooch with an attractive young woman."
Turning back to law and order - the platform which he hopes might take him to Westminster - Martin said: "Everyone I meet has a story about how break-ins have affected them or someone close to them. People don't realise the worst thing is not the stuff that is taken. It's the awful effect of your home having been violated.
"Sometimes the victims don't ever recover. Old people live in a state of terror. The strain causes marriages to collapse and people move house because they can't stand being there anymore.
"I find most people are very supportive of me and what I went through. Usually, the people who are hostile are the ones with the least experience of crime.
"They're the ones who go 'Oh, you can't let people use guns to stop burglars, it would be just like the Wild West'. They're talking rubbish - when they've been terrorised in their own homes they'll think differently."
Then he makes an extraordinary assertion. "I've thought about this a lot - burglars are just as bad as paedophiles. They are just as despicable and cause untold suffering. So when you think about it, what is the difference?"
And, despite his imprisonment, Martin is adamant that, faced with the same situation as on that tragic night in August 1999, he would do the same again.
He said: "The truth is most people don't know how they would react when they are faced with intruders in their own home. I do because I have been in that situation and I have been made to pay the price.
"When you are terrified, your instincts take over. I don't have to agonise over it - I know what I'd do.
"People who don't know what they're talking about may be horrified, but I would do exactly the same thing again."
Original link
By Aidan Mcgurran
TO MANY he's a hero to others a villain and after so much exposure to the harsh glare of public attention you may think Tony Martin would have had enough.
But instead of craving a quiet life tending his Norfolk farm Martin wants to become an MP and change the law which jailed him for killing a teenage burglar.
He was locked up for more than three years and, since winning his freedom last summer, has championed ordinary peoples' rights to defend themselves in their own homes.
Now he wants to stand for Parliament on a manifesto of householder's rights.
He told the Daily Mirror: "Everywhere I go people tell me how they live in fear. But none of the political parties seem prepared to do anything about it. They either don't realise how bad the situation is or don't care.
"I am seriously thinking about standing for Parliament to give ordinary people a voice and to get something done."
Martin standing in a General Election would cause consternation among the main political parties.
His jailing for the shooting of 16-year-old Fred Barras has turned him into a folk hero among many voters - especially in isolated rural areas - and no more so than in the village of Emneth Hungate, West Norfolk, where he lives.
When Martin, 59, was released from jail, he told the Daily Mirror how his farmhouse had been repeatedly targeted by burglars. He also felt the police did little to protect the rural community.
His defence of the right to protect property and his belief that the law was tilted in favour of criminals struck a chord with huge numbers of people nationwide.
Martin hit the headlines when he was prosecuted for murder after he used a shotgun during a botched break-in at his Bleak House farm in August 1999. Another burglar, Brendan Fearon, suffered serious leg wounds in the incident.
There was a massive public outcry when Martin was found guilty at Norwich Crown Court and sentenced to life. The charge and sentence was later reduced on appeal to five years for manslaughter.
The farmer could have been released sooner, but his refusal to express remorse meant he was declared unsuitable for early parole and had to spend another six months behind bars.
Martin's straight talking along with his refusal to apologise has only increased his popularity.
In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mirror, Martin revealed: "All I have ever wanted is to be able to get on with my life quietly.
"But I lost four years because the law is a mess. People say there is no need for a new law but there is. Ordinary, decent people have to be given rights and they have to know exactly what those rights are.
"The main parties don't seem to realise huge numbers of people are being terrorised - they are living in fear in their own homes.
"I've never wanted to be in the spotlight but a lot of people do seem to see me as some sort of champion - even though it's not a role I have ever sought.
"Everywhere I go, people come up to me and tell me about their own experiences. And every time people are asked what they are most concerned about it is always crime and, in particular, break-ins that they talk about.
"Yet the politicians don't seem to care - they are not doing anything to help. I have only begun to think about standing for Parliament recently. But I will only stand if I believe I can make a difference.
"If I decide to seek election, people will know exactly where I stand - I want a return to law and order and decency."
Although Martin has no party machine behind him, he could still pick up a lot of support. Single- issue candidates have made a big impact in British politics over recent years. Martin could stand anywhere, but the North West Norfolk constituency where he lives seems natural territory.
Traditionally, the seat is Tory but in the 1997 landslide it was won for Labour by George Turner before being regained by Conservative Henry Bellingham in 2001.
Bellingham backed Martin while he was in jail, but has recently distanced himself from some of the farmer's more outspoken comments.
Martin could pick up support from supporters of all three main parties, as well as large numbers of floating voters.
Earlier this year, listeners to the BBC's Today programme voted to back the introduction of a Private Members' Bill allowing homeowners to use whatever force they deemed necessary to defend their property - in what has become known as Martin's Law.
Both Radio 4 and Labour MP Stephen Pound, who pledged to put listeners' views to Parliament, were taken aback by the poll.
AFTERWARDS, Pound made his feelings clear. "My enthusiasm for democracy is slightly tempered, to be honest," said the MP for Ealing North.
"I can't remember who it was who said 'The people have spoken - the bastards'. It is quite likely that this bill is unworkable.
"In the end it depends on whether an MP is willing to take it forward. But just because Today listeners come up with the Tony Martin memorial bill doesn't mean it will become law." Aside from developing his political ambitions, Martin has been adjusting to life outside prison.
He has been free for six months, but knows he will never be able to escape his past. After his release he told the Daily Mirror all he wanted to do was to return to farming and his beloved Bleak House and although he is now back on the land, he has yet to set foot in the house.
The once neat Georgian farmhouse is now in such an appalling state it would be a huge task to return it to anything like its former glory.
And these days he barely glances at the property as he passes on his way to work the fields.
He said: "People keep going on and on about Bleak House, but it isn't that important to me anymore. I think I will just leave it exactly as it is - as a monument to people's stupidity." Despite death threats which mean he carries a mobile phone with an alarm button to notify the police, Martin insisted he would not live like a prisoner.
"There is no point being out of jail if you are not really free," he said.
"I don't know about all this talk of contracts, but I do know there are some people out there who would like to have a go at me so I am not deliberately reckless. There are some pubs it probably wouldn't be wise for me to go in.
"A while back some young people invited me to a nightclub in Wisbech - I might be an old man but I still enjoy a bit of fun, so I went.
"Anyway, a week or two later I went back and the fella in charge warned me there were some people inside that I might not want to meet. So I didn't bother going in. People seem obsessed about this idea of me being a recluse, but nothing could be further from the truth - I like company.
"I go and have a meal at a pub most evenings and I talk to all sorts of people in there. I even get some attention from young ladies. I think some of them feel sorry for me because of the time I had to serve in prison and I enjoy the attention.
I MIGHT be getting on, but there is still life in me yet. Over Christmas I got asked to dance by a few of them and they didn't have to ask twice.
I had a very nice time - it's very pleasant to have a smooch with an attractive young woman."
Turning back to law and order - the platform which he hopes might take him to Westminster - Martin said: "Everyone I meet has a story about how break-ins have affected them or someone close to them. People don't realise the worst thing is not the stuff that is taken. It's the awful effect of your home having been violated.
"Sometimes the victims don't ever recover. Old people live in a state of terror. The strain causes marriages to collapse and people move house because they can't stand being there anymore.
"I find most people are very supportive of me and what I went through. Usually, the people who are hostile are the ones with the least experience of crime.
"They're the ones who go 'Oh, you can't let people use guns to stop burglars, it would be just like the Wild West'. They're talking rubbish - when they've been terrorised in their own homes they'll think differently."
Then he makes an extraordinary assertion. "I've thought about this a lot - burglars are just as bad as paedophiles. They are just as despicable and cause untold suffering. So when you think about it, what is the difference?"
And, despite his imprisonment, Martin is adamant that, faced with the same situation as on that tragic night in August 1999, he would do the same again.
He said: "The truth is most people don't know how they would react when they are faced with intruders in their own home. I do because I have been in that situation and I have been made to pay the price.
"When you are terrified, your instincts take over. I don't have to agonise over it - I know what I'd do.
"People who don't know what they're talking about may be horrified, but I would do exactly the same thing again."
Original link
