An intruder killed during a raid on a pensioner’s home was wanted in connection with a separate burglary involving an elderly victim, it has emerged.

Henry Vincent, 37, was named by police as the man who died in the incident at the south-east London home of Richard Osborn-Brooks, who was subsequently arrested on suspicion of murder. In January, Vincent had been named by Kent police as they investigated a so-called distraction burglary in which valuables were stolen from a man in his 70s.

A police statement said Vincent had suffered a stab wound to the upper body during a struggle and was found collapsed in the road. DCI Simon Harding added that a second man involved in the burglary was still at large.

Osborn-Brooks, who is 78, was released on bail on Thursday morning after being questioned by police. He suffered bruising to his arms in the incident, which began when he found two men in his home in the early hours of Wednesday morning. His arrest sparked anger among neighbours and an online fundraising campaign to support him.

The injured man was dragged away from the house in South Park Crescent, Hither Green, by an alleged accomplice but was left on a pavement. Detectives are hunting for the surviving intruder, who was last seen fleeing the area.



Neighbours of Richard Osborn-Brooks have said he should not be punished for allegedly protecting himself. Photograph: Facebook

Vincent was previously the subject of an appeal by Kent police, who said in January that he was wanted in connection with a distraction burglary that took place at the home of a man in his 70s in Farningham in November last year.

A woman knocked on the door of the house, claiming to have been assaulted and seeking refuge. She left when a white van pulled up and sounded its horn; the homeowner later discovered that valuables were missing.

Kent police said in January they were keen to speak to Vincent and another man identified as Billy Jeeves. The force said yesterday that the appeal was ongoing.



The local MP, Labour’s Heidi Alexander, and legal experts said householders were entitled to defend themselves in their homes if they believed they were being attacked.

Harding said: “I would like to speak with anyone who has information regarding the outstanding suspect from the burglary, who is believed to be a white male; he may have told someone what happened at the address.

“It is possible that he fled the scene in a vehicle, possibly a white van, leaving the scene in the direction of Further Green Road. Did you see this vehicle? Do you know where it went after this? I ask anyone to contact our incident room as soon as possible.”

Vincent was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead at 3.37am on Wednesday.



A neighbour of Osborn-Brooks, who asked not to be named, backed his right to self-defence. “He deserves a medal,” she said. “You cannot break into people’s houses.

“[I’ve heard] he’s a carer. This is a pensioner that has worked all his life who wants to live and die quietly. I lived in America – if this was in America this wouldn’t be a big issue.”

Officers at the scene lifted cars to inspect drains, checking whether weapons had been hidden after the incident.



Alexander, the MP for Lewisham East, told the Guardian: “Finding someone in your own home in the middle of the night doesn’t bear thinking about, and I think it goes without saying that you should have a right to defend yourself and your family.

“The law on the extent of that right changed a few years ago following the case of Tony Martin, and while every incident will be different, it seems to me that the legal balance which currently exists is broadly appropriate.



“In any circumstances where someone is injured or dies – including where that is an intruder or a burglar – you would expect the police to ascertain the facts of what happened and ensure that a proper process is followed.”

Q&A What is the law on self-defence? Show A householder’s right to use force in self-defence when confronting a burglar in their home has been strengthened repeatedly in recent years. Since 1967 it has been legal for anyone to use “reasonable” force to prevent crime or to apprehend an offender.

The controversy over the Norfolk farmer Tony Martin, who was jailed in 1999 for murder after shooting a teenage burglar as he fled, turned the legal definition into a hot political issue. Martin was initially jailed for nine years but that was reduced to manslaughter on appeal and his sentence cut to three years. The case provoked a series of legal reforms. The last Labour government enacted section 76 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, which enshrined the common law of self defence into statute, permitting the use of reasonable force when a defendant is confronted in their home. The coalition government introduced extra protections. The justice secretary, Chris Grayling, supported a further clause, which came into force in 2013, permitting householders to resort to “disproportionate force”. That principle was tested by the case of Denby Collins at the high court in 2016. Collins allegedly broke into a home and was restrained by the householder in a headlock which left him in a coma.

A legal challenge brought by Collins’ relatives claimed the law was incompatible with the right to life as guaranteed by the European convention on human rights. But the judges ruled that force was not necessarily unreasonable and unlawful “simply because it is disproportionate – unless it is grossly disproportionate”.

Ian Kelcey, co-chair of the Law Society’s criminal law committee, said he did not believe there was a need to change the law on self-defence.



“The police are in an invidious situation,” he said. “They have to show they have carried out a robust investigation. Officers have to establish whether this was self-defence or red mist [anger] after the event.



“The police have to go through the investigative process to show it’s been robust and send it on to the Crown Prosecution Service. The difficulty is how you do a robust investigation as well as a humane investigation for someone of that age.”



Unless, for example, a burglar was stabbed in the back as they were running away, Kelcey added, such a situation would be unlikely to lead to charges.



“If someone is threatening you or attacking you with a screwdriver, it’s probably fair enough to grab a knife in self-defence. It’s proportionate.



“Does the law need changing? I don’t think so. You can’t go around giving carte-blanche to householders to permit them to shoot or stab anyone who steps into their home.”

Osborn-Brooks received support on social media from the celebrity businessman Duncan Bannatyne, who tweeted: “Arrested? He should get a medal.”

A different position was taken by Sarah Hayward, a Labour councillor in Camden, north London, and until recently the leader of the council, who said: “Due process is important. This is an unpopular position to take in the current environment. But the Met are right to investigate whether there was wrong doing by Richard Osborn-Brooks. Someone has died, they really ought to check whether it was justified and defendable.”

Local residents were due to attend a public meeting on Wednesday evening with police and local councillors, to discuss what leaflets described as the “horrific” incident.

Police forensics teams were still working on Wednesday afternoon on the street, which was cordoned off at both ends.

Residents who spoke to the press were overwhelmingly supportive of Osborn-Brooks. One man, who did not want to be named, described the death as a “one-off”, but he stressed that burglaries had continued to happen in recent years.

Gesturing across the street, he added: “There was a young couple with a young child who lived across the road there and they moved away after their house was broken into. There are some people around here who have considered putting up CCTV. In general, though, I would say that this is a quiet street and the crime is not above the levels that you would expect for London.”