Sentence for PC deaths T-shirt was 'attack on free expression' says Euro MP
9:22am Monday 15th October 2012 in News
THE jailing of a Radcliffe man who wore an offensive T-shirt in the wake of the fatal shooting of two police officers has been branded an “attack on free expression” by a North West Euro MP.
Liberal Democrat Chris Davies was speaking after the conviction of Barry Thew, likening it to the plight of a jailed Russian rock band.
Thew, of Wolsey Street, was handed a four-month sentence for wearing a T-shirt in Radcliffe town centre which carried the slogans “One less Pig, Perfect Justice” and “killacopforfun.com haha”, hours after Greater Manchester police officers Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes were killed in a gun and grenade attack.
Thew, aged 39, pleaded guilty at Minshull Street Court in Manchester to a public order offence and was also handed a further four months in prison for breaching a suspended sentence.
Mr Davies described Thew’s arrest and jailing as an “attack on free expression that weakened Britain’s moral authority in the world”.
The Euro MP compared the case to that of the Russian female rock band Pussy Riot, after three of its members were jailed for two years in February for staging protests against the country’s leader Vladimir Putin.
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 Saville 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.”
Comments(36)
Northernrover
says...
10:14am Mon 15 Oct 12
PGtips67
says...
10:33am Mon 15 Oct 12
Bob Shaftoe
says...
10:37am Mon 15 Oct 12
70% of the population want us out of the interfering EU and this illustrates why. Oh, and by the way Mr Davies, what stance did you take when demonstrators proclaimed "British soldiers go to hell etc etc"?
PDY
says...
10:43am Mon 15 Oct 12
Rememberscarborough
says...
10:45am Mon 15 Oct 12
_A5HA11_
says...
11:12am Mon 15 Oct 12
Nat's lad
says...
11:27am Mon 15 Oct 12
Presumably, Andrew Mitchell was excused when he ranted at the police in Downing Street?
exiled
says...
11:42am Mon 15 Oct 12
JustBecause
says...
12:20pm Mon 15 Oct 12
Cannot belive A: the idiot MP(well actually i can because 99% of MPs are simply idoits) or B: the idiots who actually agree with him.
Do they agree with the facebook pages that were set up condoning the killings ?
How about a tshirt with the little girl from wales saying "one less welsh kid to worry about" ..... NO its simply not acceptable.
He should be sacked.
taverner
says...
12:50pm Mon 15 Oct 12
Flycatcher
says...
1:48pm Mon 15 Oct 12
Whilst this is in a different league, i.e this is a low life scumbag with clearly no brains whatsoever, (as opposed to just a low life scumbag) the principle remains the same.
Walter Tattersall
says...
1:53pm Mon 15 Oct 12
mustafa-moan
says...
2:15pm Mon 15 Oct 12
.
All these slogans are equally as abhorent as the police t-shirt one, and should have been dealt with in a similar way!
swager123
says...
2:27pm Mon 15 Oct 12
mustafa-moan wrote:MM you have just hit the nail on the head mate !!!
Mmm gonna get slated on here again but in for a penny in for a pound, just wondering how many people were arrested & convicted for burning poppies & holding banners up saying things like, butchers of basra, baby killers, behead those who insult the prophet, behead those who insult islam, oh none, not surprised at our two tier judicial system in operation!
.
All these slogans are equally as abhorent as the police t-shirt one, and should have been dealt with in a similar way!
SmoggyDiasboro
says...
2:51pm Mon 15 Oct 12
exiled
says...
2:51pm Mon 15 Oct 12
mustafa-moan wrote:True - point is though, the police would find it difficult to arrest hundreds of people in a single attempt. Not easy with raging fanatics brething goodness knows what all over them!
Mmm gonna get slated on here again but in for a penny in for a pound, just wondering how many people were arrested & convicted for burning poppies & holding banners up saying things like, butchers of basra, baby killers, behead those who insult the prophet, behead those who insult islam, oh none, not surprised at our two tier judicial system in operation!
.
All these slogans are equally as abhorent as the police t-shirt one, and should have been dealt with in a similar way!
mustafa-moan
says...
3:15pm Mon 15 Oct 12
exiled wrote:The police could have used modern tools like youtube postings to arrest banner holders & poppie burners retrospectively, they seem to use it when it suits! No excuse on the polices part, if it wasn't for anjem choudary and his henchmen in Luton that day, insulting the Royal Anglian soldiers the EDL would not exist, when the police turn a blind eye in cases like this, the people rise up and defend our once great nation!
mustafa-moan wrote:True - point is though, the police would find it difficult to arrest hundreds of people in a single attempt. Not easy with raging fanatics brething goodness knows what all over them!
Mmm gonna get slated on here again but in for a penny in for a pound, just wondering how many people were arrested & convicted for burning poppies & holding banners up saying things like, butchers of basra, baby killers, behead those who insult the prophet, behead those who insult islam, oh none, not surprised at our two tier judicial system in operation!
.
All these slogans are equally as abhorent as the police t-shirt one, and should have been dealt with in a similar way!
pjgarside
says...
5:27pm Mon 15 Oct 12
MarkAllRead
says...
5:35pm Mon 15 Oct 12
mustafa-moan
says...
6:45pm Mon 15 Oct 12
pjgarside wrote:Poppies being burnt on armictise day, and offensive banners displayed to the Royal Anglian soldiers, clearly upset our soldiers past & present, but was anyone arrested, NO!
Am i missing the point? These were two young women, somebodys children, partners and loved ones. I find Thews' words offensive and highly inappropriate. Put aside that they were Police officers no one should be subject to this kind of vile attack.
denraw
says...
8:10pm Mon 15 Oct 12
R
swager123
says...
8:39pm Mon 15 Oct 12
mustafa-moan wrote:they even stood next to the coppers holding up banners and STILL none of them got knicked!!!!
pjgarside wrote:Poppies being burnt on armictise day, and offensive banners displayed to the Royal Anglian soldiers, clearly upset our soldiers past & present, but was anyone arrested, NO!
Am i missing the point? These were two young women, somebodys children, partners and loved ones. I find Thews' words offensive and highly inappropriate. Put aside that they were Police officers no one should be subject to this kind of vile attack.
swager123
says...
8:40pm Mon 15 Oct 12
denraw wrote:why is it a stupid comment??
Just another idiot LibDem. Hope people remember Davies' stupid comment when the Euro elections come around.
R
Comment777
says...
9:00pm Mon 15 Oct 12
Lancashire always
says...
9:07pm Mon 15 Oct 12
I was as disgusted as the next person by the immature shock tactic of the t shirt. But when are we going to start effigy burning and completely over reacting like other countries do ?
kamikazicowgirl
says...
9:31pm Mon 15 Oct 12
Community service and fines are just a joke, the 'perps' don't pay fines and they avoid work in as many ways as they can think up.
adatherton
says...
11:42pm Mon 15 Oct 12
Pity all these cases are something to do with Bolton or nearby. Don't they have any idiots down south?
millarcy
says...
6:55am Tue 16 Oct 12
atlas123
says...
10:58am Tue 16 Oct 12
Personally i would rather see a burglar get an extra couple of months and this idiot (thats what he is nothing more or less - for this offence) scrubbing graffiti or litter picking.
His crime may have caused a bit of a bad taste in peoples mouths for a few minutes where a burglar causes pain (admittedly in potentially to less people) for a much longer period.
JustBecause
says...
3:51pm Wed 17 Oct 12
BWFC71
says...
2:27pm Sun 21 Oct 12
PDY wrote:A viewpoint is a viewpoint whether it is constructive, argumentative or plain sick. Basically if its not libellous then its legal no matter how sick one may percieve it to be.
This has nothing to do with free speech it was a brazen and offensive reference to the murder of two young police officers who were doing the job that we pay them to do, that is protect us from the sort of low life that parade the streets with T shirts glorifying murder. Presumably Mr Davies and all the people posting in favour of his comments also support the Facebook pages that made the police murderer Moat out to be a saint and the policeman he blinded a sinner.
BWFC71
says...
2:36pm Sun 21 Oct 12
Bob Shaftoe wrote:Yes the same EU that gave us the 48 working hour week thus taking thousands off the unemployment as companies had to hire rather than force people to do regular overtime. The same EU that gave us the minimum wage that took thousands above the poverty line. The same EU that puts workers before the companies and such trying to eradicate the sweatshops that once existed in the UK. The same EU that helps create more than 80% of UK's GDP as they are our neighbours and opur closest market. The same EU that has NOTHING to do with Winston Churchill's European court of Human Rights!!!!! The same EU that still allows the UK to have bendy banana's, drive on the left, use imperialistic measures (although even before the EU or the Common Market the UK was ridding itself of the old measures), that still allows us to have the modern pund (only in circulation since 1971. The same EU that allows freedom of travel and moevment and jobs throughout the WHOLE of the EU in BOTH directions - not the EU fault that many UK citizens are lazy and loathsome to travel to mainland EU, or even Ireland, for work and expect work to be given to them just because they are English!!!!
What has this got to do with an MEP? This is the UK and this is British justice. 70% of the population want us out of the interfering EU and this illustrates why. Oh, and by the way Mr Davies, what stance did you take when demonstrators proclaimed "British soldiers go to hell etc etc"?
Your ignorance is just amazing in thinking that an MEP has nothing to do with us. Your MEP reports back to Brsussels - do you know who your MP is, or how often you communicate with your MP (who is basically paid more than an MEP, by the way, and has more freedom when it comes to expenses!!!)
BWFC71
says...
2:38pm Sun 21 Oct 12
Nat's lad wrote:Andrew Mitchell actually broke the law by using profanity towards the policemen - hence now why he has resigned. Using the word "plebs" is not against the law and is an opinion rather than a state of fact.
The weakness in this MEP's view is that free speech is only acceptable when it suits his own view. Presumably, any nazi-promoting racists are allowed free speech according to him? Or perhaps not. The key here is not just that this is a grossly offensive idiot, but the implication that it is good to kill, therefore this is clearly incitement and this conveys the comments into a different league altogether. Free speech or a civilised society in which people show respect for each other and the authorities put in place to protect them? I know which I would choose. Presumably, Andrew Mitchell was excused when he ranted at the police in Downing Street?
BWFC71
says...
2:42pm Sun 21 Oct 12
JustBecause wrote:Actually all that you say is acceptable as its an opinion and not a libellous opinion.
He wasnt jailed for wearing a tshirt, it was a public order issue, which was a result of the low life thinking he can go around saying what you want regardless of the format or content, at somepoint he would have been assaulted, i for one would have punched his lights out. Cannot belive A: the idiot MP(well actually i can because 99% of MPs are simply idoits) or B: the idiots who actually agree with him. Do they agree with the facebook pages that were set up condoning the killings ? How about a tshirt with the little girl from wales saying "one less welsh kid to worry about" ..... NO its simply not acceptable. He should be sacked.
Is what you say that 99% of MP's are idiots just as bad as the facebook pages - yes it is, as you are degrading a person and a profession, but its an opinion which you are legally entitled to.
BWFC71
says...
2:46pm Sun 21 Oct 12
Flycatcher wrote:Actually Abu Hmaza was never imprisoned, or ejected out of teh country for his own opinions. he was arrested and charged for inciting trouble by creating "gangs" by creating trouble and breaking quite a few other laws - what he said was personal opinions, uness libellous.
If this is free speech then Abu Hamza was allowed to spew whatever vile poison he wished as well. Whilst this is in a different league, i.e this is a low life scumbag with clearly no brains whatsoever, (as opposed to just a low life scumbag) the principle remains the same.
Free Speech is legal until somethiong libellous is commented.
steveG says...
10:05am Mon 15 Oct 12
Free speech is the rock on which our society was built and has deteriorated beyond all recognition over the past 15 years.
I may think Barry Thew is a complete idiot,as may many others,but because the authorities don't agree should he be imprisoned?.
Many racists have been driven underground by this same policy,I would rather see these people ridiculed and treated with the contempt I think they deserve.