'Marine A' To Get Police Protection When Released

Alexander Blackman will receive police protection when he is released from prison, according to reports.

The Times newspaper says Blackman and his wife Claire must take security precautions at their home in Taunton, Somerset, because his actions have made him a terrorist target.

Mrs Blackman told the newspaper she and her husband have received advice on upgrading security at their home, alerting police to her whereabouts, minimising their online presence and what to do if she thinks she is being followed.

Jonathan Goldberg QC, Blackman's barrister, told The Times:

"Doubtless Al and Claire are now in the crosshairs of Islamist fanatics, but their local police have been magnificent."

Blackman, 42, was sentenced on Tuesday by appeal judges to seven years' imprisonment for the diminished responsibility manslaughter of the Taliban insurgent in Helmand Province in 2011.

The Court Martial Appeal Court ruled previously Blackman was suffering from an "abnormality of mental functioning" at the time of the killing when he was serving with Plymouth-based 42 Commando.

The court found the incident was not a "cold-blooded execution", as a court-martial had earlier concluded, but the result of an "adjustment disorder".

Blackman has already served more than three years in jail and so could be released from prison in the next few weeks.

Avon and Somerset Police said: "We don't talk about security measures. It is not something we would discuss in the public arena."