Before Clegg

From Mr Lawrence Dean

Sir: Christopher Sallon, QC, knows of no other case where an individual was released on licence after four years, having been convicted of murder (report, 4 July).

He must be unaware of the case of Private Thain, the only other member of the British Army to have been convicted of murder, who was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in Northern Ireland in 1985. He was subsequently released on licence, after three-and-a-half years, which included the time he spent in custody before his trial. On his release, he was re-admitted into the Army, as seems likely to be the outcome in the Clegg case.

Yours faithfully,

Lawrence Dean

Shrewsbury, Shropshire