A MURDERER who has always protested his innocence has won a big cut in his sentence after a judge heard he is no longer the 'totally cold and callous assassin' who shot a drug dealer dead.

Former soldier, Tony Bottrill, from Redcar, was jailed for life in December 2000 for the savage murder of drug dealer, Bryan Scott who was a 26-year-old father-of-one.

Scott, of Marske, was shot twice in the chest at close range with a shotgun at the Kirkleatham Showground. The judge who jailed Bottrill described him as "sinister and very dangerous, a totally cold and callous assassin" who had "a very worrying attitude towards human life".

Bottrill, a divorced father-of-one who is now in his mid-50s, had a previous conviction for the manslaughter of two gay men and was handed a five-year jail term for that in 1977. And the Home Secretary of the day ruled that he must serve at least 20 years behind bars for Mr Scott's murder which has now been cut to 17 years.

The former guardsman, who was a martial arts expert, has always denied the murder despite losing an appeal against the conviction in 2005 despite winning the support of human rights barrister and then Redcar MP Vera Baird, who is now Police and Crime Commissioner for Northumbria.

Bottrill's defence was partly based on the fact there was no clear motive for him to murder Mr Scott. However the court heard Bottrill had a relationship with the ex-wife of a drugs dealer also said to be a rival of Mr Scott.

Other evidence included death threat letters Bottrill was found to have sent to the other man and he sent yet more letters to police blaming the killing on his love rival.

Mr Scott's family could not be contacted but have consistently said they believed Bottrill was guilty of the murder.

However, in an extremely rare move, High Court judge, Mr Justice Collins, today slashed the minimum tariff from 20 to 17 years, praising Bottrill's "exceptional progress" behind bars. The ruling means that Bottrill can ask the Parole Board to free him in 2017.

A report from Doncaster's Lindholme Prison described Bottrill as a "model prisoner", said the judge. He had complied flawlessly with prison rules and done 'daily good work' to help other inmates and was held in positive regard by both staff and prisoners.
The judge said: "He is a trusted prisoner whose assistance has enabled a large number of prisoners to improve their basic skills."

Bottrill, who was a 17 stone kick-boxer, has always refused to admit that he was guilty of Mr Scott's murder.

He was interviewed by The Northern Echo inside Frankland Prison, Durham, in 2004 and sent a letter to the newspaper in 2010, both times saying that he would rather die in prison than admit his guilt. But the judge said that Bottrill's refusal to take responsibility for the murder should not be "held against him".

After Bottrill has completed his new 17-year tariff, he will be freed if he can convince the Parole Board he is no longer a danger to society.

Ms Baird, who represented Bottrill in the Court of Appeal, said: "Whatever the truth was about the trial, it is quite right that the courts should reflect his progress in jail."

Other comments online have been critical of the decision to reduce the sentence. One woman said: "He still took someone's life. He has no right to think of getting out earlier."