Blair does u-turn on rights of victims

LONDON - British Prime Minister Tony Blair says the Government will consider changing the law to protect householders from prosecution for tackling burglars.

His statement came after he clashed with the Leader of the Opposition over an issue creating alarm across Britain: the fear of being attacked in one's own home.

Blair said yesterday that it was important to send a "very, very clear signal to people" that the Government was on the side of the victim, not the offender.

It was an adept piece of political manoeuvring which turned the tables on Conservative leader Michael Howard at Prime Minister's question time in the Commons and strengthened Labour's credentials to be tough of crime.

Signalling the about-turn, Blair said the Government would consult chief police officers, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the Attorney-General on whether there should be new protection in the statute book for householders.

Blair told MPs: "If we get the right response from those people, we will support a change in the law."

He said that he shared the views of the outgoing Metropolitan Commissioner, Sir John Stevens, who sparked controversy at the weekend when calling for a law change.

Sir John said: "People should be allowed to use what force is necessary and they should be allowed to do so without any risk of prosecution".

Blair's remarks contradicted the Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, who only 48 hours earlier had said the existing law which allows "reasonable force" to be used by householders did not need to be changed.

Caught out by the speed of the about-turn, Howard dubbed the Prime Minister "Mr Bandwagon". He taunted him: "Once again, where we lead, you follow."

There was indeed a sense at Westminster that Blair had once again demonstrated his abilities at stealing Tory policies to cut the Opposition's chances of making political capital.

Yet many police chiefs are privately uneasy that security in the home is becoming a political football - with less regard paid to the fact than to the opinion polls.

One chief constable - who asked not to be named - described the latest calls for a change in the law as a "typical knee-jerk reaction".

Many police would prefer to see minimum new guidelines and clarification of the existing law to reassure the public.

While they know first-hand how traumatic burglary can be to those on the receiving end, they point out that the figures paint a different picture to the impression left by lurid headlines.

They acknowledge that only last week Londoners were horrified by the brutal killing of a city financier, John Monckton, and the stabbing of his wife in their Chelsea home. Their 9-year-old daughter raised the alarm.

Prosecution officials can recall only a handful of cases where homeowners have been brought before the courts in recent years because they have harmed intruders. Many cases do not reach the courts because CPS officials assessed that the householder used "reasonable" rather than excessive force.

- INDEPENDENT