Robin’s son Stephen was a serving Special Branch police officer. During a terrorist raid, Stephen was stabbed by one of the suspects. At the press conference following this tragic news, Stephen’s father, Robin, was interviewed by the press. One journalist asked the question: ‘Mr Oake, what do you think about the man who killed your son?’ He gave what to some was a startling reply. ‘I don’t know the man or all the circumstances of the operation but from my heart I forgive him.’ Robin’s and Stephen’s Christian faith was and is at the heart of their family life. In a frank, inspiring and honest book, Father Forgive, Robin Oake shares his story and the reasons for his amazing forgiveness.
Robin was the Chief Constable of the Isle of Man before he retired. No stranger then to the right and wrong side of the law, he uses his years of experience in the police force to help explore the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ of forgiveness – even in extreme circumstances.
Robin’s own Christian faith was fostered in his childhood. Brought up in a happy, secure though non-church going family, he was sent to Sunday School as a child. His parents, Robin recalls, thought they were Christians ‘simply because they lived upright lives’. Following the example set by his older sister, Robin made his commitment to follow Jesus Christ in his teens on a church youth camp.
‘It was here that I linked the life-changing in the sister I respected with what the padre was saying. I knew then that I needed to actually repent of sin and ask Jesus to forgive and to be in my life. I saw that Jesus loved me and had died for my sin.

‘I think for me it wasn’t so much “I was blind but now I see” but “It was very difficult to see but now I see much better!”’
Robin prayed for guidance as to what he should do with his life and felt challenged to apply to and subsequently join the Metropolitan Police. He met his future wife Chris through church. They married and had three children – Stephen, Judi and Sue. As a family they attended church regularly, though in his teenage years Stephen began to look for a reason not to go.
‘Steve came to the point where he realised that being brought up in a Christian family didn’t mean he automatically had a friendship with God and a ticket to heaven. He knew he needed to say sorry to God and get right with him, and when he did, he “came alive in Christ”,’ Robin says.
Stephen’s faith grew, encouraged by daily Bible reading and prayer. At the age of 21 Stephen married Lesley and together they sought God’s purpose in their lives. It came as a complete surprise to his father, Robin, when Stephen too joined the police force.

Stephen’s police career involved many challenges. He even spent time as part of Prime Minister Tony Blair’s protection team. At work, he did not hide his Christian faith from his colleagues. At home, he and Lesley enjoyed a very close family life. The couple raised three children and took an active part in the life and worship of their church.
As he looks back at that time, Robin recalls ‘Forgiveness was a part of my life as a practising Christian, not a “big deal” at all. But the big test was to come that terrible night when our beloved Steve was killed in the line of duty.’ Hours after Stephen’s death, Robin, struggling to understand what had happened, prayed this prayer ‘Lord, I don’t know who he is but give me the grace to forgive the man who killed Steve.’ He had no idea that this would become public knowledge at the press conference later that day.

Strengthened by God, Robin faced the journalists’ questions. ‘I forgive him,’ he said. From long experience Robin knew ‘revenge imprisons us; forgiveness sets us free’. At church the following Sunday, Stephen’s wife, Lesley bravely spoke of her feelings. ‘I want you to know that God is just as real to me today as he was last week. He doesn’t change.’
Stephen’s moving funeral took place in Manchester Cathedral.
‘There was a sense of moving on,’ Robin recalls, ‘of forgiveness, of rejoicing through grief.’ Robin sums up the attitude shared by his family.
‘A thousand-strong congregation watching a grieving family seething with anger, seeking retribution, demanding answers – how would that have shown the love and forgiveness of Christ, and the hope we have for eternal life?
‘We wanted the world to know that Steve died simply doing his duty, so bravely, and that duty was part of his Christian life; this celebratory funeral was to evidence triumph through tragedy.

‘Steve could well have said, with the apostle Paul, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. 1 v.21). As the congregation was welcomed, it was underlined that for Christians, death is never “goodbye” but “see you later”.’ Two years later, the man accused of killing Stephen was found guilty at the Old Bailey. To this day, Robin continues to pray for him.
In his honest and moving book Father Forgive Robin acknowledges that forgiveness is often not the easy way but through personal and biblical examples, he charts a path to follow.