Alex Massie Alex Massie

Paul Clarke Sentenced Today

Remember the Paul Clarke affair*? He’s the chap who found a shotgun in his garden, took it to the local police station, was arrested for possession of a firearm, tried, convicted and, possibly, faced as many as five years in prison? Well he was sentenced today. Holly Thompson has the story:

A former soldier who faced five years in jail after finding a shotgun and handing it in to police will be spending Christmas at home. Paul Clarke, 27, was given a 12-month suspended sentence for possession of a firearm at Reading Crown Court today. Clarke took the stand and sensationally claimed he had been having a sexual relationship with a female Surrey Police detective – and another police officer had grown jealous. The 27-year-old was given the chance to give evidence in open court before his sentencing. He said: “I didn’t call the police [to tell them I had found the gun] because I was sleeping with the detective.

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