This "Tony Martin" story has amazed me from the start, Pearly. Britain's Crime rate has been climbing through the roof, and they met out this kind of punishment to a man who defends his home. He would have got a medal in Texas. I gather from the story that the criminals were Gypsies.
Tony Martin is 'going to get it', warns cousin of the boy he shot
By Thair Shaikh and Daniel Foggo
(Filed: 27/07/2003)
Relatives of Fred Barras, the burglar shot dead by Tony Martin, last night warned that the Norfolk farmer will be murdered after his release tomorrow.
One cousin of Barras said Martin was "going to get it", while another said a hitman would be hired if the dead teenager's associates failed to carry out a retaliatory attack.
The death threats will add to fears about Martin's safety, which have already prompted police to set up a mobile station at his farm at Emneth Hungate, Norfolk.
The Telegraph can also reveal that Martin, who was moved to a safe house last week , made arrangements for a gun to be hidden at a friend's home. The weapon, which was concealed under a wardrobe in Martin's farmhouse prior to his conviction for murder in 2000, was smuggled out by his friend, Paul Cumby. Mr Cumby said last night that he still had Martin's gun, saying: "I've got that."
In a separate development, David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, has ordered the head of the Prison Service to explain the early release of Brendon Fearon , Barras's accomplice during the burglary of Martin's home in August 1999. Yesterday, Jamie Jones, a News of The World photographer, was assaulted by Fearon's brother in Newark, Notts.
Fearon, who was shot and wounded by Martin, was freed on Friday, despite serving less than a third of an 18-month sentence for heroin dealing, prompting an outcry from MPs and Martin's supporters.
Ishmael Steele, Barras's cousin, who lives on the same road in Newark where Barras grew up, said Martin would be killed. "He will get it. Something will happen to him, it's got to.
"We've got hundreds of relations who aren't happy with it. And to those who say it's just talk, I'd say wait and see. The detectives can't be with him all the time, can they?"
Another cousin of Barras, who gave his name as Georgi, said the travelling community had recently put a £60,000 bounty on Martin's head.
"He is a dead man. I don't know if it will be a traveller that will do it, but it will be a proper hitman, a professional job," he said.
Martin was jailed for life at Norwich Crown Court three years ago for killing Barras, 16. His life sentence and murder conviction were overturned on appeal and reduced to a five-year term for manslaughter. On Thursday, Martin, who was held at Highpoint Prison in Suffolk, was moved to a safe house. He is expected to remain in hiding in the days following his release, but has told friends that he then intends to return to his home.
The freeing of Fearon, 33, only three days before Martin's release, prompted an outcry yesterday with Henry Bellingham, the Norfolk farmer's MP, claiming that ministers and the prison service were pursuing a vendetta against his constituent. "This was either a coincidence, in which case it was grossly negligent and deeply insensitive, or someone, somewhere has acted out of spite." The Government responded by ordering Phil Wheatley, the head of the Prison Service, to a meeting with Mr Blunkett tomorrow to explain Fearon's release.
Dominic Grieve, the shadow prisons minister, accused Mr Blunkett of rank hypocrisy. "Fearon's release is a direct consequence of policies initiated by Mr Blunkett. The ordering of this report shows how the Home Secretary's actions are driven by a desire for the short-term media limelight. He is not in control."
telegraph.co.uk |
