Enderby EYE

the village ...and beyond

Jail for 63yr old gun collector

17 June 2007 - [updated 26 June 2007]

Local MP, Andrew Robathan, raises issue of 'inflexible' law and friends and neighbours support the M.P's campaign.

Kenneth Milburn, a 63-year-old gun collector from Enderby, appeared at Leicester Crown Court and was sentenced to five years in jail for keeping illegal pistols in his house.

In passing sentence, Judge Peter Morrell commented that it caused him "great sadness" and described the gun laws as "draconian".

Judge Morrell said that in this case, a law introduced in 1997 that banned guns over a certain size (following the Dunblane massacre), had "led to a manifest injustice".

The Court was told that in July 2005, army bomb experts were called in to remove the arsenal from Milburn's home in Trinity Road, Enderby.

Milburn's collection included 12 rifles, 12 shotguns, 18 air weapons and around 100 antique weapons. There was also a quantity of bullets and cartridges.

Crown Prosecutor Alan Murphy said the weapons had taken three days to recover and Milburn, who was deaf and in poor health, simply "got carried away". adding that there was no suggestion the defendant Milburn ever intended to use any of the weapons.

Mr. Milburn was charged with owning 12 banned handguns, which he claimed he had forgotten he owned.

Milburn had pleaded guilty to possession of the handguns at an earlier hearing.

Judge Morrell was not persuaded Milburn had made an innocent mistake.

Defending Milburn, Mr. Carl Gaskill said: "It serves no purpose to send this man to jail. His main hobby in life is gone now. He's retired and doesn't have anything to do all day."

Judge Morrell commented that Milburn's crime did not merit a jail sentence, but he had to take account of the message that would be sent out if he did not jail Milburn, adding that if he did not jail Milburn, the Court of Appeal would.

The Judge is reported as saying "This is Draconian legislation in which the court is required to have regard to the wider public. This legislation is intended to ensure there are no longer any handguns in the public domain. It's why, with great sadness, that I'm unable to accept the submission that there are exceptional circumstance, to avoid a custodial sentence."

Local MP, Andrew Robathan, says 63-year-old Kenneth Milburn should not be in prison.

[Update 22 June 2007]

Mr Robathan is reported in the Leicester Mercury as saying the laws are inflexible and Milburn, who is deaf and in poor health, is merely a collector who is unlikely to harm anybody.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Robathan asked: "Will the Minister look at that case, so perhaps we can free up a place in prison for a burglar and let out Mr Milburn?" He said Milburn "...threatened or harmed nobody, and he is unlikely to reoffend".

Mr Robathan told the Mercury, "This is ludicrous. It's entirely the Government's own doing that we're sending people to jail for crimes which are not threatening other people, whereas we're going to let burglars out" - a reference to the early release of prisoners as a result of prison overcrowding.

The MP has promised to write to the Judge who in turn has agreed to re-examine details of the case on receipt of the letter. Mr Robathan says the ban should be flexible, so those who possess the weapons with intent to use them are punished.

Neighbours support the M.P's campaign to free Mr. Milburn.

[Update 26 June 2007]

Neighbours and nearby residents of Mr.Milburn have indicated their support for M.P. Andrew Robathan's campaign to have 63 yr old Milburn released from jail.

Mr Milburn suffers from ill-health and is not a threat to anyone, say some of his neighbours. Others in the vicinity are more cautious, citing the need to protect the public after the Dunblane Massacre - however there is a general concensus that if the (mostly antique) guns were locked up out of harms way, then a prison term seemed harsh for someone who hadn't harmed or threatened anyone.

Associated links:

» Trinity Road explosives scare (Eye News Item - 28th July 2005)

» Leicestershire Police | » Leicester Mercury

» Sth. Leicestershire Conservative Association (Andrew Robathan, MP)

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