The former Royal Marine Alexander Blackman is expected to be freed from prison in around two weeks after senior judges sentenced him to seven years for the manslaughter of an injured Taliban fighter in Afghanistan.

After a long campaign that led to Blackman’s murder conviction being quashed and replaced with manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility, a new sentence was set by the court martial appeal court on Tuesday. It means the 42-year-old no longer faces life in jail but has been given a determinate sentence, and because of time already served should be out next month, three and a half years after he was first sent to a civilian prison.

The sentence was greeted with relief and joy by supporters of Blackman, who was initially known by his codename Marine A, but any hopes of his being allowed back into the marines were dashed.  Though the five judges said his outstanding service before the killing and his poor mental state at the time meant that dismissal with disgrace was not appropriate, they maintained that the severity of his crime meant he should remain dismissed.(guardian)…[+]