“A man who threw a plastic beer bottle at Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt moments before the Olympic 100m final has been found guilty of public disorder at Stratford magistrates court.”
The Guardian, 11th January 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“A court has cleared a man who shouted the word ‘nigger’ at a black man of racial abuse, after he claimed he was a rap music fan who used the term as an endearment.”
The Guardian, 4th December 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“A man who threatened his neighbour with a sexual aid tucked into his trousers has been jailed for five years after police mistook it for a firearm.”
Daily Telegraph, 23rd November 2012
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Regina (Gujra) v Crown Prosecution Service [2012] UKSC 52; [2012] WLR (D) 330
“The Crown Prosecution Service, in deciding whether to use its statutory power to take over and discontinue a private prosecution on the ground that there was insufficient evidence, was entitled to apply the same test as that applicable to Crown prosecutors when conducting public prosecutions, namely that a prosecution should not be continued unless it was more likely than not that the defendant would be convicted.”
WLR Daily, 14th November 2012
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
“A pensioner claiming to be a Catholic nun who sent envelopes containing white powder to parliamentary figures including Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was given a community order today.”
The Independent, 16th November 2012
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“Men who emotionally abuse their partners by controlling their finances, preventing them from seeing friends or verbally abusing them could soon be prosecuted under domestic violence laws, it has been claimed.”
Daily Telegraph, 18th September 2012
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“Campaigners want to overturn laws targeting “insulting words and behaviour”. Just how safe is it to scorn others?”
BBC News, 18th May 2012
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“A 35-year-old man who claimed he was going to commit a ‘live murder on Facebook’ during an eight-hour police siege has been jailed for two years.”
BBC News, 3rd April 2012
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“A man has been jailed for eight months after threatening to shoot police and council officials at an anti-terror raid on a Muslim meeting in Cardiff.”
BBC News, 23rd February 2012
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“The limits of free speech and freedom of religion are presently on trial once again with the reported prosecution of a Christian street preacher, Michael Overd, in the Magistrates’ Court. The case arises out of threatening remarks Mr Overd allegedly made in public to a homosexual couple.”
Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 13th February 2012
Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk
“A Christian preacher accused of verbally abusing two gay men during a sermon has been cleared in court.”
BBC News, 10th February 2012
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“A dangerous loner who preyed on young girls and threatened to burn down one teenage victim’s family home was jailed indefinitely today.”
The Independent, 8th November 2011
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“Abusive troublemakers who call British soldiers murderers or burn poppies on Remembrance Day could escape prosecution under moves to scrap ‘insulting behaviour’ as a criminal offence.”
Daily Telegraph, 14th October 2011
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“Cambridge United player Jordan Patrick has been fined £750 for racially abusing a taxi driver and threatening a policeman in a drunken outburst.”
BBC News, 8th September 2011
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“A man who threatened to ‘put a bullet in the head’ of the gay rights campaigner Ben Summerskill and a gay couple illegally barred from a hotel has been given a suspended prison sentence.”
The Guardian, 8th September 2011
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The founder of the English Defence League has been convicted of leading a street brawl with 100 football fans.”
The Guardian, 25th July 2011
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Paul and Amanda Wilkes and their two children were finally thrown out of their home after 57 allegations of anti-social behaviour in just five months. But they have secured legal aid to take Blackpool council to the European Court of Human Rights – despite admitting ‘we’re no angels.’ ”
Daily Telegraph, 11th June 2011
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“The pilot of a plane that crashed on election day, injuring Ukip leader Nigel Farage, was given a two-year community order today after a court heard his threats to kill the politician were ‘a cry for help’. ”
The Guardian, 10th June 2011
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Gang members who terrorised a quiet market town, behaving like ‘feral animals’, have been jailed in spite of claims that they had changed character since their final rampage.”
The Guardian, 3rd June 2011
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
