'They loaded up my Skoda and drove off': David Cameron reveals he has been burgled twice as he tells homeowners they can use disproportionate force against intruders



New laws could allow use of lethal force against criminals

The Prime Minister says homeowners could stab a burglar provided they are not unconscious



Law changes meant to 'dispel doubts' over right to fight intruders

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling to reassure homeowners over their rights

Tough new 'two strikes' rules will mean anyone committing two serious offences will be jailed for life



David Cameron was repeatedly put on the spot yesterday over how far somebody confronted by a raider would be allowed to go under a new ‘bash a burglar’ law unveiled by his party.

The Prime Minister – who recounted the ‘terrible’ experience of having his Skoda stolen in a burglary – said he believed intruders gave up their rights when they entered another person’s home.

When pressed as to what this meant in practice, he said that the new law would not permit, for example, the stabbing of a burglar who had been knocked unconscious in a struggle.

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Making a point: David Cameron said he believed intruders gave up their rights when they entered another person's home Bad memories: The Prime Minister recalled when his Skoda was stolen in a burglary (file picture)

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

But the announcement raised questions over the precise boundaries that would apply.

Mr Cameron told ITV News: ‘People need the certainty to know that unless they did something grossly disproportionate, as we’re going to put it, then they are basically in the right.’

He added: ‘And frankly when a burglar crosses your threshold and enters your home, we should worry less about their rights and worry more about the rights of the household, the home, the family whose privacy and whose place they are invading.’

He recalled how raiders once burgled his home then escaped in his car, telling Sky: ‘I’ve been burgled a couple of times when I lived in London, in North Kensington. There was one occasion when I left the keys in my car and they loaded up my Skoda and drove off. It is a horrible feeling when your house has been invaded.’

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling’s announcement that he would change the law to allow the use of ‘disproportionate force’ against burglars in the heat of the moment delighted MPs at the Tory conference yesterday. Only the use of ‘grossly disproportionate force’ will remain outlawed. Currently, householders are entitled to use only ‘reasonable’ force.

Campaign: Calls for a change in the law gathered strength after Tony Martin, pictured outside the Norfolk home where he shot two burlgars, was jailed in 2000

Plans: Theresa May tells the Tory conference that victims will have a greater say in the justice system

The plan was attacked by the civil liberties group Liberty, whose director Shami Chakrabarti said: ‘Terrified householders defending themselves are already protected, so the irresponsible announcement can only be designed to make people afraid or actually encourage vigilante execution.’

Mr Grayling also pledged that sex attackers and killers would be jailed for life in a new ‘two strikes and you’re out’ policy.

Life terms will automatically go to anyone twice given jail terms of ten years or more for rape, sex crimes against children, serious GBH and terrorism offences, and ‘causing or allowing the death of a child’.

The Justice Secretary said: ‘Everyone deserves a second chance. But those who commit the most serious offences cannot be allowed to just go on and on causing harm, distress and injury.’

Home Secretary Theresa May also unveiled 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 courts.



Mr Grayling, who will also promise to toughen community punishments, will delight the Right with his new law on burglars.

It will mean someone who is confronted by a burglar and has reason to fear for their safety, or their family’s safety and in the heat of the moment uses force that later seems ‘disproportionate’ will not be guilty of an offence.

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Rights: Andy and Tracey Ferrie, pictured, were confronted in their home by burglars 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.

No sympathy: Judge Michael Pert QC spoke out after a lawyer for one of the men who broke into the Ferries' remote farmhouse, pictured, asked for leniency 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.