'Marine A', Alexander Blackman, speaks for first time since his release to thank his 'wife in a million'

Alexander Blackman - better known as Marine A - has praised his "wife in a million" as he spoke for the first time as a free man since his release from prison.

Sgt Blackman, 42, is considering a life outside the Armed Forces for the first time in almost two decades, after his release from prison in the early hours of yesterday having had his conviction for the murder of an injured Taliban fighter quashed.

Reunited with his wife Claire, Mr Blackman said: "She has saved me".

Describing his gratitude, the former marine told the Daily Mail: "She is a wife in a million...You just can’t imagine anyone cares for you that much."

Among his principle plans, friends say, is to complete a university degree he began in prison and which could take his life in a “completely different direction”. But, for now, he is enjoying relaxing and watching television as he and Claire, 45, celebrate the end of their fight for justice. 

It was won earlier this year when a panel of Appeal Court judges recognised that the battlefield stress that Mr Blackman was under was cause enough to amend his conviction to one of manslaughter. That reduced his sentence from life to seven years for the killing of the Afghan insurgent in 2011.

Now Mr Blackman faces life as a free civilian for the first time in 18 years: ­after more than three years as a prisoner and 15 as a serviceman with five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. He married NHS manager Claire in 2009, but they have spent more time apart than together.

Mr Blackman said his release from prison was an "immense feeling" but he was aware that his freedom came with certain conditions which he said "I must – and I will – respect".

He added it was the "little things" he was enjoying, such as being able to choose when to eat and sleep, but said his new found freedom would take "some getting used to."

Marine A, Sgt Alexander Blackman, in pictures

Mrs Blackman told the Mail she had spent the day "grinning like a Cheshire cat" as she awaited her husband's arrival. 

"Now it is daylight, it still feels like a dream. We have spent so long on this rollercoaster ride and have always steeled ourselves for the worst-case scenario."

Mr Blackman has had to give up on his dream to rejoin the military, having been dismissed in disgrace, despite the pleas of senior officers.

However, there are job offers, murmurs of a book deal and even talk of a Hollywood film with Tom Hardy as Blackman, Kate Winslet his wife and Al Pacino as Jonathan Goldberg QC, the lawyer who led his successful appeal.

Mr Goldberg said: “Once they are fully decompressed I will meet them and we will discuss the interesting meeting I just had in Hollywood at the invitation of a famous producer from which it is clear that a major movie could be in the offing if they wish it.”

However, the Blackmans will also have to take steps to ensure their personal safety because of the high-profile nature of his offence. 

Frederick Forsyth, the novelist and former RAF fighter pilot who was one of the leading lights in the Blackmans’ campaign, said: “Where is the military covenant which is supposed to be the concordant between Government and the military? 

“It is in shreds, morale is scraping the bottom and no one wants to be held responsible.”

Alexander Blackman Marine A timeline

Mr Forsyth, author of The Day of The Jackal and The Dogs of War, said the MoD was at the centre of the anger having spent 10 years funding ambulance-chasing lawyers such as Phil Shiner, the disgraced human rights lawyer, to create a “tissue of lies” about abuse by serving troops.

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