Killer of hero in 1967 is jailed

A schizophrenic murderer who killed a man during a bungled bank robbery 30 years ago was yesterday sentenced at the Old Bailey.

Unemployed Arthur Jackson was sent to the top security mental hospital Broadmoor for shooting Anthony Fletcher through the heart in 1967.

The court heard that Jackson, 60, had shown no remorse over the death of Fletcher, who was posthumously awarded the George Cross. He denied murder but admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Years later, he confessed to the killing, while serving a jail term in the United States for attempted murder.

Mr Justice Potts told Jackson: "A hospital order without restriction of time in your case is appropriate. I am satisfied that as a result of your mental illness you are an exceptionally dangerous man."

Although Jackson will be detained in Broadmoor, he may be transferred to a hospital in his native Scotland in the future.

Outside the court, Fletcher's widow, Valerie, with her children Martin, 39,Tracy, 32, and Jason, 31, expressed deep disappointment at the sentence.

"We thought we would come here today to hear him told he would never see daylight again," she said. Her son, Jason, who was visibly angry at the outcome, said: "I wanted him to be told that he would be in jail for the rest of his natural life. Justice hasn't been done."

Orlando Pownall, for the Crown, said Jackson had shown no remorse for the shooting.

In 1967, Jackson robbed the National Provincial Bank in Knightsbridge, London and had escaped with pounds 130 when Mr Fletcher, a self-employed contractor intervened. He chased the gunman up a cul-de-sac but as he approached, Jackson shot him in the chest and he died almost immediately.