Oh and also, this...
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=uk+self+defense+laws
Nope, there is nothing in the law that says escape is preferred to self defense, he completely made that up. On the contrary, see link above.
"In England and Wales, anyone can use
"reasonable" force to protect themselves or others, or to carry out an arrest or to prevent crime. Householders are protected from prosecution as long as they act "honestly and instinctively" in the heat of the moment."
Well, what I saw was, in the first sentence, that one can only use Reasonable force. Which means you can't use a gun, to protect yourself from fists.
If you look at a more formal description of English law on the matter (as supplied earlier by Genar) you will see, below, that there is very close scrutiny on what level of force is used. Nit-picking about a specific mention of retreat is really an attempt to deflect the point being made. Self Defense is not an open and shut case in real life.
Public Interest
Self-defence, being an absolute defence, is a matter of evidence and is not in itself a public interest consideration.
In many cases in which self-defence is raised, there will be no special public interest factors beyond those that fall to be considered in every case. However, in some cases, there will be public interest factors which arise only in cases involving self-defence or the prevention of crime.
These may include:
Degree of excessive force: if the degree of force used is not very far beyond the threshold of what is reasonable, a prosecution may not be needed in the public interest.
Final consequences of the action taken: where the degree of force used in self-defence or in the prevention of crime is assessed as being excessive, and results in death or serious injury, it will be only in very rare circumstances indeed that a prosecution will not be needed in the public interest. Minor or superficial injuries may be a factor weighing against prosecution.
The way in which force was applied: this may be an important public interest factor, as well as being relevant to the reasonableness of the force used. If a dangerous weapon, such as firearm, was used by the accused this may tip the balance in favour of prosecution.
Premeditated violence: the extent to which the accused found themselves unexpectedly confronted by a violent situation, as opposed to having planned and armed themselves in the expectation of a violent situation.
In the end, none of this matters, because all we care about here, is the legal system within E|D. In that legal system you need the local authorities permission to defend yourself.