An absolute disgrace

[Dedworth]

SAS veterans ask PM to intervene over "monstrous" jailing of war hero

David Cameron has been urged to intervene to secure the release of a former SAS sniper who was jailed for possessing a pistol given to him as a present by Iraqi soldiers he trained.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...-war-hero.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...=feeds-newsxml



Once again brave members of our armed forces are betrayed by the High Command and faceless MoD politically correct bureaucrats & lawyers

Sickening

[Arthur Little]

Stories like this are apt to play havoc with one's blood pressure ...
... mind yours!

[imagine]

yeah right reward the terrorists , criminalise and imprison our heroes

[bigmarco]

What an absolutely sickening story.
I first heard about this nearly a week ago and remember thinking that as an ExSAS man with 17 years service he should be at the Cenotaph last Sunday not like Cameron Clegg and Milliband.
I pray that someone with an ounce of common sense ends this nightmare for him very soon.

[Arthur Little]

Meanwhile ... all WE can possibly do, is hope and that the combined efforts of the influential SAS veterans concerned, will persuade the Prime Minister to exercise sound commonsense!

[stevie c]

What a shambles this country is if your atrue Brit born & bred then regardless if you are a war hero you are still classed as a second class citizen but if you are a illegal or asylum seeker you get all the help you can shocking a war hero is treated in such a way

[Arthur Little]

What a shambles this country is if your a true Brit born & bred then regardless if you are a war hero you are still classed as a second class citizen but if you are a illegal or asylum seeker you get all the help you can shocking a war hero is treated in such a way

So true! ... if it WEREN'T it would be almost laughable!

[Dedworth]

You wonder how much lower the authorities and self servers running our excuse of a nation can stoop

[les_taxi]

F...... disgusting

[philphil61]

F...... disgusting

my thoughts also

No other words can describe this

[Jamesey]

Zero Tolerance - you know it makes sense

This case proves that in most cases, "zero tolerance" simply doesn't work.

[stevewool]

seems one law for one and one for another, did he get legal aid i wonder

[andy222]

jokers. I think the judges should be locked up.

[stevie c]

jokers. I think the judges should be locked up.

And then deported

[KeithD]

Is this all the facts? No. It's a military court (so sentences are much harsher than civilian courts) and as it is special forces you are not going to hear all the facts of the case. As the police found the gun, what was the reason they searched his house? They don't search a house for fun!

[Dedworth]

The pistol was packed, along with his other belongings, and sent back to an SAS base and safely locked away.

Sgt Nightingale suffered memory loss after a fall during a charity trek in Brazil and forgot about the pistol.

The pistol was moved, with his belongings in 2010 when he was moved to a new Army house.

And it was last year, that when he was away on duty in Afghanistan that police raided his home after his housemate's estranged wife claimed her husband had assaulted her and alleged he kept ammunition in the home.

It was during the search of the house that Sgt Nightingale's pistol was found.

It has since emerged that police called to the home decided it was not a matter for them as there was "no criminal intent" on Sgt Nightingale's part.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...in-prison.html

Civil police obviously didn't want to get involved, then the Red Caps and MoD very nicely decided to hang him out to dry

He's a very interesting guy - developed a chest dressing which has saved loads of lives

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...-SAS-hero.html

[KeithD]

So he illegally held the weapon in Afghanistan while on duty? That's an offence in the military and probably why he was done. I doubt many on here have even been in the military let alone know the laws. You are not allowed to have a weapon of any kind that has not been issued to you. You can pick up a weapon and use it in a fire fight, but you are not allowed to put it with your personal belongings as that is an offence, for obvious reasons.

[Dedworth]

So he illegally held the weapon in Afghanistan while on duty? That's an offence in the military and probably why he was done. I doubt many on here have even been in the military let alone know the laws. You are not allowed to have a weapon of any kind that has not been issued to you. You can pick up a weapon and use it in a fire fight, but you are not allowed to put it with your personal belongings as that is an offence, for obvious reasons.

The gun was discovered by West Mercia Police when they searched his mates house


In May 2011, both men were sent on a six month tour to Afghanistan. A few weeks after they left, his colleague’s wife complained to the police that she was a victim of domestic violence and that her husband had ammunition in his house.

The complaint resulted in a raid on the house in which civilian police searched not just his colleague’s possessions, but Sgt Nightingale’s, and found the Glock pistol. It was in the box in which Sgt Nightingale had locked it in 2007.

Both men were sent back to Britain and Sgt Nightingale was questioned by West Mercia Police, who did not press charges.

Instead the police decided it was a matter for the military, and the case was passed to the Royal Military Police and both men who were charged with firearms offences.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/9669...says-wife.html

[bigmarco]

I don't doubt for one minute that he shouldn't have had the Gun. However sometimes it would be nice for a bit of common sense to be applied in cases like this. It was a gift and it would appear that he did not knowingly smuggle the gun. Does a man with his Military record deserve to be sentenced to 18 months detention for this? My answer is a definite No.

[Dedworth]

Personally I'd have thought with the nature of the duties he'd carried out he would be allowed to have a side arm for personal protection.

[KeithD]

Personally I'd have thought with the nature of the duties he'd carried out he would be allowed to have a side arm for personal protection.

Of course, but then if military personnel went out and bought a gun it changes the nature of the unit involved. They are given specific weapons for a reason.

As I said earlier, I doubt he was done for having a gun in the UK as the press clearly makes the story out of, it was because he held an illegal weapon while on a tour of duty. Simple as that, it is illegal in the military, and the people who do it know the consequences under a court martial are severe. Not knowing is not a defence, and being in the unit he was in he'd have known, trust me.

Does a man with his Military record deserve to be sentenced to 18 months detention for this?

If he had groped a woman, shoplifted, mugged a kid for his phone, should he also be let off? They are lesser offenses than having an illegal firearm.

[les_taxi]

I would let him off with a warning

[KeithD]

Many people on here constantly have a go at the UK justice system, saying it is weak, useless, etc..... the military are strict, zero tolerance, do little with 'mitigating circumstances', and you know that when you join up. That is how you keep order, something we no longer have in civvy street.

[les_taxi]

Many people on here constantly have a go at the UK justice system, saying it is weak, useless, etc..... the military are strict, zero tolerance, do little with 'mitigating circumstances', and you know that when you join up. That is how you keep order, something we no longer have in civvy street.

Yes your right can't argue but I would bring it down to a basic level and say B......s and release him immediately there have to be instances where the strict letter of the law can be softened.
It can't be right that a war hero serving his country is in jail while the scum like Abdul whats his name katada is released.
Tony martin got released after public pressure and his was more serious crime but I still agreed with it

[KeithD]

Tony and Abdul were both done by the useless civilian courts though, the military is a different world, and can't be compared.

It seems the UK civvy courts now have a minimum 5 year sentence for having an illegal firearm: http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/d_to_g/firearms/#a26 , so the guy seems to have got off lightly in a military court.