Tony Martin is due to return to his Norfolk farmhouse

Martin, jailed for manslaughter for shooting dead an intruder, is due to be released on Monday.

A prison service source confirmed to the BBC that Martin had been moved.

He is still officially in the custody of the prison service and will remain so until Monday, the BBC was told.

'Moved to safe house'

Martin's MP Henry Bellingham said: "The Home Office have made it quite clear that he has been moved from Highpoint Prison, Suffolk, and not to another prison.

"It clearly must be to a safe house, which in my opinion would be somewhere in East Anglia, probably within one hour or so from Highpoint."

I think he was certainly very keen to be moved because he took the view there was going to be a monumental media scrum on Monday, but also he wished not to be moved to another prison Tony Martin's MP Henry Bellingham

Mr Bellingham said Martin, who was jailed after shooting dead a teenage burglar from Nottinghamshire who broke into his home in Emneth Hungate, Norfolk, had been moved from the prison late on Thursday morning.

The MP said he did not know where Martin had been moved to.

He said: "He obviously was anxious about being moved under the glare of a huge media scrum.

"It would not have been fair to move him to another prison, which would have been very difficult for him.

"The conclusion must be he's been taken to a safe house, and I would expect him to call me within the next few days.

'Secret location'

"He will be with police protection and probably with a prison officer in a secret location.

"It is in everyone's interest that the secret does not get out."

Mr Bellingham said: "I think he was certainly very keen to be moved because he took the view there was going to be a monumental media scrum on Monday, but also he wished not to be moved to another prison."

Martin shot dead 16-year-old Fred Barras from Newark n August 1999 and wounded Barras' accomplice Brendan Fearon during a burglary at his home in Emneth Hungate, Norfolk.

He was originally jailed for life after being convicted of murder.

The conviction was overturned on appeal and reduced to manslaughter and he was sentenced to five years in prison.