The lioness who simply said, 'I can’t wait to cook for him again': ROBERT HARDMAN on Claire Blackman's fight to see her husband freed from prison
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ROBERT HARDMAN FOR THE DAILY MAIL
The decision took a second or two to sink in. Their years of armed combat had left some of the gents in this crowd a little hard of hearing. And for all his undoubted legal brilliance, the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas, was not entirely audible as he rattled his way through his historic announcement.
Up in the public gallery, though, Royal Marine mum Jayne Quinn quickly did the sums. ‘He’s out!’ she cried. Whereupon Court Number Four of the Royal Courts of Justice descended into happy bedlam. Applause in the gallery spread to the courtroom below.
One or two flinty old soldiers appeared to be in tears. People queued up to hug the indefatigable Claire Blackman, the wife who never gave up and who will now soon be reunited with a husband no longer branded a murderer.
Claire Blackman (centre), wife of jailed former British soldier Alexander Blackman, Marine A, reacts outside the The Royal Courts of Justice in London on March 28, 2017
Even at this Hallelujah moment, she was a good deal more composed than some of those around her. Outside in the Strand, cabs and lorries slowed and honked their horns as news spread on the radio.
Over the road at The George, the bar staff called for reinforcements.
Sergeant Alexander Blackman of the Royal Marines was finally going to be freed, and that meant a hefty celebration.
There was still no diluting the anger felt across the Forces that a brave man, whose self-control had briefly snapped in the most appalling circumstances, was treated like the basest criminal lowlife. But everyone was certainly going to enjoy the moment.
Inside the courtroom, a man in a Royal Marines regimental tie stood to attention, ramrod-straight, and proclaimed: ‘Three cheers for Claire and the team. Hip hip…’
Former Marine Alan Logan from North Wales came up to me and pressed a smart Royal Marines scarf in to my hands – a symbolic ‘thank you’ to the Daily Mail readers whose generosity had brought about this historic moment.
The party atmosphere was, of course, completely out of order in this judicial holy of holies. The blazered platoons had behaved impeccably throughout this case – until now.
The court usher, who has seen them queuing up at every stage, simply rolled her eyes.
Not so the usher from a neighbouring court, who suddenly burst in demanding quiet. ‘This is a court building!’ she shouted.
‘There are other proceedings going on. Please, if you want to do any more celebrating, go outside.’
And so they did, leaving one slightly bemused figure taking it all in. In a crisp blue shirt, Sgt Blackman, 42, was still sitting in his Wiltshire prison – where he must remain for a few more days – hooked up to the court by video link. Before switching him off, a clerk offered to bring his wife over to the camera.
‘Are you all right darling?’ asked Claire, adding a note of caution: ‘The whole court can hear you, so we will speak very soon. Love you lots.’ Back came a manly ‘Love you’ before Sgt Blackman disappeared.
The steps of the High Court were impassable as Claire, 45, emerged alongside her victorious legal team. The gothic entrance was draped with ‘Justice for Marine A’ flags. Several lifesize cardboard cut-outs of the man himself in combat uniform stood among the ranks of medal-clanking veterans, mostly ex-Royal Marines but with a healthy smattering of other units, too.
Several maroon berets from arch-rivals the Parachute Regiment illustrated the strength of feeling across the Armed Forces. Someone cracked open a bottle of champagne. A hip flask the size of a bedpan did the rounds.
Sgt Blackman’s barrister, Jonathan Goldberg QC, began by saluting the ‘lioness’ who had ‘kept the flame alive’ from the day her husband went down for murder at that bungled court martial in 2013.
Step forward, the true heroine of the day. ‘Your man’s coming home, Claire!’ shouted a man in the crowd, prompting more cheers. A bagpiper struck up and was promptly struck down again so that everyone could hear her speak.