Marine A Sgt Alexander Blackman told wife Claire she could walk away after murder charge

Sergeant Alexander Blackman has revealed he told his wife she could leave him after he was charged with murdering an Afghan insurgent.

Sgt Blackman – who became known as Marine A – said it was a "really good feeling" to have his freedom back after more than three years in jail.

He and his wife Claire are settling back into married life after his original court martial conviction was quashed and replaced with one of diminished responsibility manslaughter.

He told how he had called his wife in a "very emotional state" after learning he would be charged with murder for shooting the seriously injured Taliban fighter in 2011.

He said: "I said ‘this wasn’t what you agreed to when you got married’ – if she didn’t want to stick around or to part company at that point or any point throughout the process, it would be something I’d understand – I’d wish her well for the rest of her life."

Sitting by her husband’s side, Mrs Blackman said: "I said ‘don’t ever say that to me again. This isn’t what I signed up for (but) my marriage vows are my marriage vows and I’m with you all the way’."

Mrs Blackman led a campaign to overturn the original conviction – and a life sentence with a minimum term of 10 years.

New evidence was uncovered about her husband’s time serving in "the most dangerous square mile on Earth," while three psychiatrists diagnosed a combat stress condition called an adjustment disorder.

The fresh information led to the crucial Court Martial Appeal Court decision to reduce the conviction and cut Sgt Blackman’s sentence.

Mrs Blackman said: "I certainly knew it was the worst tour he’d had and I got a great sense of his frustrations.

"For me one of the hardest things was, he is such a good leader and he takes his responsibility for his men so seriously, and what he’s described about trying to manage the morale of those men when there’s only bad news – I know he would have found that really difficult."

Sgt Blackman described shooting the Afghan fighter dead as "a moment of madness".

He said: "I don’t know why exactly I did it. Still, a moment of madness is the best description I can give.

"It’s not exactly the proudest moment of my life when I look back on that."

He said it had been "surprisingly easy" for the couple to slot back into their old lives and he had been appreciating the freedom to spend the day in the countryside, while sorting out basics like getting a phone and registering to vote in the forthcoming General Election.

He also revealed he has had "lots of kind offers of employment".

He said: "Once things have calmed down a little bit, I’ll go through those and see what takes my fancy.

"The most important thing for me is to be useful and obviously do something that I find interesting and enjoy."

Sgt Blackman said he had not talked to anyone about a film of his life, after his barrister last month told Sky News he had held talks with Hollywood execs about a movie – with Tom Hardy tipped to take the lead role.

(c) Sky News 2017: Marine A Sgt Alexander Blackman told wife Claire she could walk away after murder charge