Izzy, I Hope That This Will Please U

Izzy, I found this information in my e-mail today.
I hope that it pleases u:

Homeowners win right to use lethal force on burglars:
'Disproportionate levels of violence' backed

a.. New laws could allow use of lethal force against criminals
b.. Law changes meant to 'dispel doubts' over right to fight intruders
c.. Justice Secretary Chris Grayling to reassure homeowners over their rights
d.. David Cameron says he has been burgled twice and wants the law
to protect people who stand up to intruders


By James Slack and James Chapman



PUBLISHED: 17:09 EST, 8 October 2012 | UPDATED: 03:47 EST, 9 October 2012





Crackdown: Chris Grayling wants to 'dispel doubts' over the right
to fight off intruders

The long campaign to give householders the right to use maximum
force against burglars will end in victory today.

Chris Grayling will announce he is changing the law to allow people
to use 'disproportionate' levels of violence to protect themselves
and their families.

The Justice Secretary said it would 'dispel doubts once and for all'
over the right to fight back against intruders.

David Cameron today said that after being burgled twice he wanted
people to know the law will allow them to protect their property.


The new rules could, in some cases, allow for lethal force.

The move is designed to remove the threat of burglary victims being
arrested - let alone charged - if they use violence to drive the
intruder away or stop him from advancing through their homes.

Currently, householders are entitled to use only 'reasonable' force.

The change satisfies the demands of MPs and campaigners since Norfolk
farmer Tony Martin was imprisoned for shooting dead a burglar in 1999.

The call for action gathered momentum after the murder of financier
John Monckton, who died from stab wounds in his Chelsea home in 2004.

Last month a judge warned that burglars who break into country homes
can expect to be shot at by their victims if they are licensed gun holders.


There have been a string of changes to the law in recent years - including
one made by Kenneth Clarke last year, but ministers have always
stopped short of delivering on the right to use 'disproportionate force'.

Mr Cameron today said he had been burgled twice while living in
North Kensington in London, including one occasion when raiders
'loaded up my Skoda and drove off'.

The Prime Minister told Sky News: 'It's a horrible feeling when your
house has been invaded and your privacy has been invaded and you
don't know what they have taken; you don't know what they were doing.'

Asked if he would be 'a fight or a flight' person, Mr Cameron added:
'I think you never know what is going to happen in those circumstances
and I'm not advising people to have a go but the fact is people need
the certainty that if they were in that situation and they did have
to take action to defend themselves then the law is on their side.'

The decision by Mr Grayling to try to change the law as soon as possible
sets down a marker that he intends to be a tough Justice Secretary.
His announcement comes on a day when ministers will make a determined
effort to reassure the public they will crack down hard on crime.

Home Secretary Theresa May will unveil plans to allow crime victims
to decide how the thug should be punished.


They will be offered a menu of sanctions - such as ordering offenders
to pay compensation or fix the damage they have caused.

Any offender who refuses to comply will face stiff action by the police
or the courts. Mr Grayling, who will also promise to toughen community
punishments, will delight the Right with his new law on burglars.

It will mean people who are confronted by a burglar and have
reason to fear for their safety, or their family's safety and in the
heat of the moment use force that later seems 'disproportionate'
will not be guilty of an offence.

This could include the use of lethal force. Only force which is
'grossly' disproportionate will not be permitted.


Mr Grayling said: 'Being confronted by an intruder in your home is
terrifying, and the public should be in no doubt that the law is on
their side. That is why I am strengthening the current law.

'Householders who act instinctively and honestly in self-defence are
crime victims and should be treated that way.

'We need to dispel doubts in this area once and for all, and I am
very pleased to be delivering on the pledge that we made in Opposition.'

The demands for change began when Mr Martin was imprisoned for
killing one burglar and wounding another who entered his Norfolk farm.

More recent cases suggest prosecutors and judges have been giving
greater weight to the legal right of householders to use 'reasonable force'
to defend themselves.

Last month Judge Michael Pert QC spoke out after a lawyer demanded leniency
for a criminal who, he said, had been hit with a shotgun by Andy Ferrie
at his home near Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, in 'a form of summary justice'.

The judge replied: 'If you burgle a house in the country where the
householder owns a legally held shotgun, that is the chance you take.
You cannot come to court and ask for a lighter sentence because of it.'

Mr Grayling's move follows changes made by his predecessor Ken Clarke,
which removed a legal requirement for householders to retreat.

Guidance for police has also been changed to encourage fewer arrests
of those defending their homes.