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SAS sniper Danny Nightingale to be sentenced for a second time over possession of army gun

Sgt Nightingale has already been jailed - and freed - for the same crime

James Legge
Thursday 25 July 2013 11:10 BST
Trials: Danny and Sally Nightingale after the second guilty verdict
Trials: Danny and Sally Nightingale after the second guilty verdict

The SAS sniper who was jailed for possession of a war trophy pistol and then freed after public outrage, will be sentenced again today.

Sergeant Danny Nightingale, who spent 18 years in the army, was found guilty earlier this month on charges of possession of the weapon and 338 rounds of ammunition.

His wife Sally launched a campaign last year when it emerged that he had been jailed for 18 months after a Glock 9mm pistol and ammunition were found at a house he shared with another soldier. The subsequent public outcry led to his release, after the Court of Appeal quashed his conviction.

A court martial re-trial, which eventually found Sgt Nightingale guilty for a second time, saw a host of SAS soldiers brought before the Military Court Centre at Bulford, Wiltshire, under cover of anonymity.

The 38-year-old, from Crewe in Cheshire, now faces another prison sentence.

The gun and bullets were said to have been brought back from Iraq and were recovered by civilian police in September 2011 in the rented house the father-of-two then shared with another SAS soldier known only as Soldier N. The pistol was found in Nightingale's wardrobe and the ammunition was under his bed in a plastic box.

Nightingale said he had no knowledge of them being in his bedroom and said someone else had put them there. The court heard he received a head injury during an endurance marathon in 2009 that affected his memory and that had caused confusion.

He had pleaded not guilty to possession of a prohibited firearm between November 26, 2007 and September 16, 2011, and had also denied possession of the ammunition on or about September 16, 2011.

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