Wirral MEP condemns jailing of man who wore T-shirt mocking deaths of two policewomen (From Wirral Globe)
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Wirral MEP condemns jailing of man who wore T-shirt mocking deaths of two policewomen
9:46am Friday 12th October 2012 in News By Leigh Marles
Barry Thew, 39
The jailing of a man for wearing a T-shirt daubed with offensive comments referring to the murders of PCs Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes has been condemned by a Wirral Euro MP.
Barry Thew, 39, was spotted in his home town of Radcliffe, Greater Manchester, wearing a T-shirt which carried handwritten comments of "One less pig; perfect justice" and "Killacopforfun.com haha".
Less than three-and-a-half hours earlier, Ms Hughes, 23, and Ms Bone, 32, were shot dead in a gun and grenade attack as they responded to a reported burglary on the Hattersley estate in Mottram, Greater Manchester.
Thew, of Wolsey Street, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court to the public order offence committed on September 18.
But North West Liberal Democrat MEP Chris Davies described his arrest and jailing as an “attack on free expression that weakened Britain’s moral authority in the world.”
He said: “How do we condemn Russia for imprisoning members of the ‘Pussy Riot’ group for offensive acts if we do the same here?
“If someone was to wear a T-shirt claiming that ‘Jimmy Savile was a nice man’ what is to stop them being arrested too?
“If we are to protect freedom in this country then we have to accept that even offensive idiots have the right to express their views. The fact that many people may be upset by them is not a sufficient justification.”
Following sentencing, Inspector Bryn Williams, of the Radcliffe Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: "While officers on the ground were just learning of and trying to come to terms with the devastating news that two colleagues had been murdered, Thew thought nothing of going out in public with a T-shirt daubed with appalling handwritten comments.
"Thankfully the overwhelming response from the public - who have inundated us with messages of support and condolence - prove that Thew is the exception and not the rule and our communities were right behind us at our darkest hour.
"To mock or joke about the tragic events of that morning is morally reprehensible and Thew has rightly been convicted and sentenced for his actions."
But Nick Pickles, director of civil liberties campaign group Big Brother Watch, is in agreement with Mr Davies. He said: "The public shame of such a senseless and callous act is punishment enough.
"The idea that you should spend several months in prison for writing something on a T-shirt when shoplifters, burglars and a whole host of other offenders serve far less is absurd.
"Using the Public Order Act to police words is a chilling effect on freedom of speech and these powers have also been used to arrest Christian street preachers, critics of Scientology and even students making jokes.
"It's time we reform the law to protect freedom of speech and focus the police on bringing to justice those who seek to incite harm, not those who cause offence."
Comments(23)
Positive thinker
says...
12:58pm Fri 12 Oct 12
Xleader
says...
1:13pm Fri 12 Oct 12
Put yourself in the place of friends and family of those two murdered officers.
Take note of the word murdered.
I don't think you should resign, you should be dismissed from office. Hopefully your constituents will get rid of you sooner.
You sir are an ****.
naughtykitties
says...
4:04pm Fri 12 Oct 12
merseymal
says...
4:05pm Fri 12 Oct 12
We don't live in China. We're supposed to be a country where we have freedom of speech. This covers distasteful things as well.
merseymal
says...
4:06pm Fri 12 Oct 12
JADEE1
says...
5:07pm Fri 12 Oct 12
JADEE1
says...
5:12pm Fri 12 Oct 12
Positive thinker
says...
6:59pm Fri 12 Oct 12
JADEE1
says...
8:51pm Fri 12 Oct 12
Positive thinker
says...
9:19pm Fri 12 Oct 12
Mr Bollo
says...
1:59pm Sat 13 Oct 12
Incitement to hatred or riot is a different matter, but locking people up for saying something that is deemed offensive goes against all principles of free speech. Unfortunately, you have to take the rough with the smooth.
Just who gets to decide what is offensive? That worries me far more than some moron wearing a stupid t-shirt.
Jimrob
says...
9:10pm Sat 13 Oct 12
He gets 3 months in jail.
Countless police officers kill 96 innocent football fans.
Not one officer disciplined/ sacked/fined or jailed.
In fact, some are even knighted.
Kind of sums it up don't you think?
Having said that. I must agree that the wearing of such a t-shirt IS insulting to decent people and to the families of those officers that lost their lives. But no more insulting than the cover-up of Hillsborough by the police, to the memory of the dead and the families of those affected.
May the two officers and the 96 get justice and may they all soon be able to rest in peace.
uncatom
says...
10:17am Sun 14 Oct 12
uncatom
says...
10:26am Sun 14 Oct 12
JADEE1
says...
3:54pm Sun 14 Oct 12
smiler69
says...
2:06pm Tue 16 Oct 12
Tautology
says...
11:16pm Tue 16 Oct 12
Don't upset our Muslim colonisers, wishing (The Infidels) us dead!
Racism cuts both ways:
http://www.liveleak.
com/view?i=c44_13503
92880
bickyboy
says...
11:30pm Tue 16 Oct 12
This idiot should not have been jailed: he should have been sentenced to a much more severe and humiliating punishment. He should have been given six weeks serving tea, polishing boots and acting as general dogsbody at his local police station. The officers he encountered there would have taken great care to ensure that it was an experience he would never want to repeat.
Crunchie580
says...
7:27pm Wed 17 Oct 12
But the law that has existed for a very long time states that a person is guilty of a public order offence if they "cause alarm, harrassment or distress to others"
The words on the T-shirt would certainly fit into this area, not only to police officers, but any decent member of the public.
what would the MEP or Civil Rights campaigner say if the T-shirt had a racist slogan on it.... ?.
Well here's is my exercising of Freedom of Speach. "The MEP" should resign their post as they are not in touch with the views of the people they claim to represent, and such disgraceful statements, which are only designed to provoke the public and raise his own name / profile should be treated with the contempt they deserve.
With regards to the comments reference Hillsborough - The police officers on duty did not kill any Liverpool fans, however there are obviously serious failings on the day of the police senior officers and their leadership skills, which have contributed to other failings of others, which have had tragic consequences. Any police officer, retired or still serving, found to have lied or altered evidence should be held to account for their actions. the officers in charge should also be held to account, and if found they instructed a cover-up, they should be jailed for perverting the course of justice.
-signed - serving police officer
Spiffy
says...
10:22am Thu 18 Oct 12
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Any Right should also be balanced with a Responsibility. He certainly had "the right" to say what he did but did so with the full intention that his words be grossly offensive and so must face the consequences. Go looking for trouble and you get it, fact of life. The only real problem here for me is that the man was jailed...at all...and sentencing is a separate issue.
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There is no consistency in sentencing for even just *one* crime in this country where...despite claims of Equality... it is not only dependent on a criminal's social and financial status but age, sex, race, sexual orientation and state of health.
...
We have an extremely complicated so-called Justice System and there were plenty of other punishments available to the courts to impose here. They could and should have got creative and sent a strong and directly appropriate message of non-tolerance that could and should...in future...be applied across the board.
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As it is...full room and board on the taxpayers...was pure laziness and has unsurprisingly backfired. Must Try Harder.
Scouselad11
says...
7:09pm Thu 18 Oct 12
People should not be allowed to spread hate and that's what this message was, not a well reasoned argument pointing out how he did not agree with particular Police actions etc.
JohnON
says...
8:10am Fri 19 Oct 12
Wirralrob says...
10:05am Fri 12 Oct 12
I work in the area this idiot was arrested. I also live not too far from the place the double police shooting happened.
You are not fit to be an MEP and should resign now. I am making a complaint to your party.
In terms of outright stupidity, you have managed to overtake Paul Nuttall MEP, which is some feat.