Friday, September 21, 2012

Boris Johnson on Andrew Mitchell

Over to the Mayor of London:
"If people swear at the police, they must expect to be arrested. Not just because it's wrong to expect officers to endure profanities, but it's also because of the experience of the culprits. 
"If people feel there are no comebacks, no boundaries and no retribution for the small stuff, then I'm afraid they will go on to commit worse crimes."
In fact, this was Johnson speaking at last year's Conservative Conference, but the principle must still hold.

The Guardian report of that speech helpfully goes on to say:
Although no specific offence of swearing at a police officer exists, it is an offence under section five of the Public Order Act 1986 to "use threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress thereby".
Later. And here is BoJo being applauded for saying it...

2 comments:

Kimpatsu said...

Although no specific offence of swearing at a police officer exists, it is an offence under section five of the Public Order Act 1986 to "use threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress thereby".
This is the same act that gets students arrested for saying a police horse is gay, that Muslims and Xians use to shut down legitimate criticism of their superstitions, and is used by McDonalds to stifle protesters. It is a bad law and must be scrapped. Don't use it to defend the sacking of Andrew Mitchell. In stead, there should be a law for MPs: conduct unbecoming a holder of public office. Mitchell breached that, and should be fired on those grounds; but don't you DARE trample over free speech just to get at an MP that you don't like because he is a member of a different monkey tribe than yours.

Jonathan Calder said...

It's Boris Johnson you need to shout at, not me.