Was This Really A Prosecution In The Public Interest?

A burglary victim accused of causing the death of teenager who was fleeing on his stolen bike did what any 'reasonably minded' homeowner would do in the circumstances, a jury has been told.

What did he do? He went after the thieves! 

Dean Barnes, 16, was killed in the early hours of January 24, 2023, when the bike he was riding as a pillion passenger on crashed into a car.

Callum Duncan, 28, was woken around 6.30am on on January 24, 2024, by the noise of a gang of burglars breaking into the shed at his home in Stockport, Greater Manchester.The burglars, Barnes, alongside Alexander Riley, 21, and Adam Norman, 36, fled on his three off-road bikes and he immediately gave chase - reaching speeds of 36mph in his Golf GTi.

 I don't really know what to think about this. Oh, wait, yes I do!

                    

In the chaos that followed, Barnes was forced to abandon the Yamaha PW50 he was riding - commonly known as a 'Pee Wee'. He then got on the back of Norman's, a black a white Husqvarna, which then crashed into another car, causing the pair to be thrown off.

And incredibly, the CPS decided to charge not just the thief drving, but also the theft victim. 

Duncan and Norman are both on trial at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court charged with causing death by dangerous driving, which they deny. Norman, who denies two further charges of causing death by driving while uninsured and causing death by driving while disqualified, and Riley, both of Brinnington, Stockport, have both admitted burglary.

So the CPS could have wrapped this up without the expense of trying two men for the actions of one. 

'He does what any reasonable right minded home owner does in the those circumstances,' Mr Harman said. 'He goes to investigate. 'His motivations are different entirely from those of the burglars.' He said Duncan, 'an ongoing victim of crime' with 'his property at stake', was motivated by two things. 'Firstly, to spook the burglars enough to abandon their activity, allowing him to recover his property,' said Mr Harman.'Second, to get a good enough view of where the bikes are going and have a better idea of those involved and where they are taking the bikes.'

Not his fault at all they proved to be as incompetent at a getaway as they did, is it? 

Mr Harman said it was Norman's 'stupidity and dangerous and reckless actions' that caused the collision and Dean's death - and Duncan was not to blame. But the prosecution maintain that Duncan's 'dangerous' driving also contributed to the fatal crash.

And the jury said 'You're having a laugh, mate!' No wonder Labour want to abolish them.

Who Are These Witnesses?

Ms Freemantle was arrested at the scene and investigated by police. But prosecutors decided not to bring any criminal charges in June 2024 after Ms Freemantle said she had suffered an epileptic seizure.

In October, the Mail revealed Met Police had decided to reopen the probe after a serious case review uncovered significant flaws in the way officers conducted the initial inquiry, including consideration of medical evidence which led to the case being dropped.

 But it wasn't the police who opted to drop the case, was it? Surely that decision rests with the notoriously hesitant CPS? Is nothing ever just an unfortunate accident anymore?

The case was subsequently reopened and handed to a top detective superintendent from Specialist Crime Command. Police then made a successful appeal for people who witnessed the crash to come forward to help officers understand whether the driver's behaviour was consistent with her diagnosis.

So they are going to try to challenge medical evidence with layman's observations of the scene? Well, God loves a trier, they say!

You Will Get More Of What You Tolerate...

All charges have been dropped against six women who stormed the racetrack during the Derby in an animal rights protest witnessed by thousands of spectators. Six members of Animal Rising broke into one of the country’s biggest horse races two years ago but have just been told they will not face a crown court trial. The charges against them of causing a public nuisance at the track in Epsom, Surrey, have been dropped.

Despite the fact that there was near-universal CCTV and broadcast media evidence? What the hell are the CPS playing at? They've just given every nut and whackjob with a grudge an opportunity to disrupt the public with vitually no comeback... 

They include Rose Patterson, 35, one of Animal Rising’s leaders. She said crown lawyers have lost their ‘appetite for prosecuting people trying to make the world a better place’ after dozens of protesters from Just Stop Oil and other groups have been locked up. She also pointed to the prison overcrowding crisis.

Another side effect of TwoTierKier's thin skin, then. Great. They are really rolling in now... 

Charges against Greenpeace protesters who climbed onto former Prime Minister’s Rishi Sunak’s home in Yorkshire were also dropped on Friday. Both decisions come amid an overcrowding crisis in which Labour has freed thousands of prisoners early to free up space.

*sighs* 

Wait, What Country Am I In Again?

A man who drove for almost 100 feet with a 12-year-old girl trapped underneath his van has walked free from court. Ali didn't stop until the girl came out from the back of the vehicle, lay motionless on the floor, and a member of the public alerted him to what had happened. The unnamed girl was left with a broken collarbone and elbow and also friction burns.

Police at the time of the crash in Oldham, Greater Manchester said she suffered 'life changing' injuries.

The girl's family declined to support a prosecution, meaning he could not be charged with causing serious injury by careless driving.

Wait, what? This isn't the States, where the victim of a crime is required to 'press charges'. This is the UK, where the Crown takes on that job! 

At Tameside Magistrates Court, Ali admitted the lesser charge of driving without due care and attention. He was also ordered to pay £205 in costs and victim surcharge and had six points endorsed on his driving licence. The court heard he already had three points on his licence from two years ago for speeding.

*sighs* 

Sentencing, JP Pauline Taylor said: 'This is an unusual incident I must say. You have got three points already so you need to be extremely careful. It is a serious matter. If you get another matter on it, you might get disqualified.'

And, the law being an ass, you might not. 

H/T: RealBlackIrish via Twitter

I Know It Doesn’t Look Like It Much Anymore, But You Weren’t In Turkey

...you were in Romford.

A schoolgirl was left terrified by a man who rubbed her leg and kissed her feet at Romford Station. The man had asked the 15-year-old girl for directions but when she helped him he “caressed” her knee and kissed her feet, a court heard. Members of the public had to step in to separate the man from the girl, who was visibly distressed and crying. Emil Muresan, 50, of Slade Green Road in Erith, was arrested at a nearby bus stop after the girl reported the incident to a teacher at her school.

If uou're thinking that's not a classic old Romford name, Reader, you'll be right, of course: 

But he told police that where he comes from in Turkey it is common to kiss people’s feet to say thank you.

Well, take a look around you, Emil ol' son. You're not in Turkey. 

On Monday (March 18) he was ordered to carry out 55 hours of unpaid work after he pleaded guilty to battery.

A probation officer who interviewed Muresan about the offence said the defendant tried to kiss his feet at the end of the conversation. Muresan’s barrister said his client repeatedly tried to do this to him too.

Kudos to him for carrying on the charade quite so far! 

Muresan had initially been charged with sexual assault, but he later pleaded guilty to battery instead and the earlier charge was dropped.

Another lazy decision by the work-shy CPS, I see... 

Sentencing him at Inner London Crown Court, Judge Anne Studd KC said: “You say it is a cultural normality for you, and there is some evidence to say that is true. But for her it caused panic.” He was given a one-year community order with a requirement that he must complete 55 hours of unpaid work.

Why not simply deport him? 

Manifestly Not Keeping Death Off The Roads...

A teaching assistant crashed her car into a family home and caused £200,000 worth of damage after she passed out while fasting during the holy month of Ramadan, a court has heard. Maryam Abbasi, 37, was speeding on the wrong side of the road when she careered into a garden wall and embedded the front of her car in the house in Edinburgh in April 2021.

Whoops! Lucky no-one was killed.  

She was subsequently arrested and charged with dangerous driving but pleaded guilty to an amended charge of driving without due care and attention when she appeared in court on Monday.

 *sighs* The Scottish CPS are just as lazy as the ones down here.

Solicitor Richard Freeman, defending, said his client had qualified as a criminal lawyer in Pakistan and was studying for an HND in teaching in this country when the accident took place.

So..? 

He said her children attended separate schools in Edinburgh and her driving licence was essential to the family as she is the only member who can take them to and from their schools.

Daddy doesn't drive? Or Daddy is still in Pakistan? 

Sheriff Gordon Liddle said: 'Looking at this in the round I am satisfied, as far as I can be, that there is no instant and obvious danger presented by your driving today and that is an important thing for the purpose of public safety is concerned.

'But I have to deal with this as it stands, so I am not going to disqualify you which is probably of great relief to you and instead I am going to impose penalty points.'

What do you have to do? Oh, wait. It appears it's 'forget to indicate' in the UK.

The Path Of Least Resistance

Three schoolchildren today pleaded guilty to killing a dog walker after a 'vicious' assault in a park. John Hackett, 36, died hours after he was said to have been 'choke slammed' to the ground and then repeatedly punched and kicked by a group of teens on Camp Hill Road, Nuneaton.

Feral 'children' killing an adult. It's something we've seen far too much of lately. And with this response from our so-called 'justice' system, it's something we will see more of: 

Mr Grieves-Smith told Judge Andrew Lockhart KC, the Recorder of Coventry, that anxious consideration had been given to the issues in the case before deciding not to proceed to a trial on the murder charge.

'The family of John Hackett have been spoken to and they have understood our decision. The pleas are acceptable,' Mr Grieves-Smith said. Judge Lockhart then told the defendants: 'What that means is this - you three, having pleaded guilty, will not be tried for murder.

'But in due course you will be sentenced for the offence of manslaughter, which is unlawful killing.'

A weaker sentence, one easier to prove so the CPS doesn't have to work so hard, and these feral scum can be treated as victims, instead of as perpetrators. 

Will we have to wait for a smash ITV drama to uncover the injustice of these cases? It seems all we can hope for these days. 

We can't even hope that these killers are off the streets, amazing as that sounds:

Renewing conditional bail for all three teenagers, the judge added: 'You have pleaded guilty to a really serious offence here today. But you will get credit for that plea of guilty, which will reduce the sentence that would otherwise have been passed upon you. Your sentence will be reduced by an appropriate margin that the judge will decide.'

Why not give them a handful of change from the poorbox (do we still have those?) to buy sweeties on the way home, judge? 

John's mother Christine Smith found him dead at the top of the stairs after he had collapsed at their home in the Warwickshire home. Following the attack, John staggered back and alerted police to the attack which the teenagers filmed and posted on social media.

We are doomed as a functioning society, aren't we? 

Probably, But So What..?

A former Crown Prosecution Service chief has warned Rishi Sunak his new law to quash Post Office Horizon convictions en masse will see some guilty people exonerated.

Have you forgotten a long-held tenet of our justice system, then, that it's better for 10 guilty men to go free? 

It's called 'Blackstone's Ratio, I'm sure you must have come across it, even in an organisation as debased as the Crown Prosecution Service had sadly become...

Legislation will be introduced within weeks to enact the blanket overturning of convictions - which crucially clears names entirely, unlike a pardon. Lord Macdonald gave a word of warning as he told Times Radio the move was 'constitutionally awkward'.

I share some of the unease with how the government is pandering to the publicity raised by this drama series too, but this is just pure sophistry:

'... and secondly it will mean, I think, that some people who are in fact guilty will be exonerated,' he said. 'That's the price the government is prepared to pay and that's really I think a political judgment as much as anything else.'

No, it's not. It's something your own organisation should have had at its heart. But it colluded with the Post Office to hound these people unlawfully. So you can warn all you like, no-one's listening, and that's on you. 

"...it is unfortunately far too common for young men to drive in this way."

Is it, judge? Is it really? All young men? 

The court heard he had both hands off the wheel and while holding his mobile phone to film the video with one, he used the other to inhale balloons filled with nitrous oxide. He was found 'dazed and confused' in the wreckage, while his two passengers were unconscious. Nobody was wearing a seatbelt, the court heard.

*sighs* 

The judge said that had Jillani not admitted his crime and the case and gone to trial, he would have imposed a sentence of 14 years.

In effect, cause the CPS less work and they'll cause you less punishment for your crime. Who voted for that? 

He said that while Jillani is 'intelligent, well thought of' and comes from a 'highly respected family', Judge Conrad slammed him for having 'a degree of arrogance, selfishness and insensitivity about you still in the way you regard yourself'.

The judge also said Jillani had made 'tasteless' online postings since the tragedy causing further hurt to Ms Yusuf's family.

I guess he didn't get a discount for non-existant 'remorse' at least. Which is a nice change.  

Well, There's Your Answer, Jon...

 

When I spoke to the head of Scotland Yard’s war crimes unit, Chief Supt Eddie Bathgate, shortly after he retired, he admitted: “Svikeris was a powerful case, and I would cheerfully have put him on the charge sheet. The interviews with him were videotaped and you could see he was guilty. One of my last remarks to the CPS was, ‘you are not going to be able NOT to prosecute Svikeris’.”

And the CPS said 'Challenge ACCEPTED!'. 

But ultimately, the CPS did not believe they could establish his guilt in court beyond reasonable doubt.

And if it's not a sure thing, they won't bet... 

And to make sure they don't have to, they rig the wheel!

In researching a book on this process, I and my co-author, Robert Sherwood discovered the CPS had insisted on a set of criteria that inevitably restricted the number of cases to reach court.

These included the insistence that a suspect had to have been in a command position – a criterion nowhere to be found in the War Crimes Act. To be considered a strong case, the victims had to have been Jews, notwithstanding the many thousands of non-Jews murdered by the police auxiliaries. And without credible eyewitnesses prepared to testify in open court that they had seen the defendant kill, after half a century, even the most compelling cases – like those of Gecas and Svikeris – failed to pass the threshold.

Isn't it about time the CPS was overhauled? Or scrapped, root and branch, and replaced by an organisation worth the name? 

Then You'll See More Cases Like This, Won't You?

DS Hughes said that although it appeared 'quite clear' Mustafa's friend had committed an offence of causing or permitting another to use a motor vehicle without a licence or insurance, it was judged not in the public interest to prosecute.

And if the next kid riding a scooter illegally bumps a passenger into the path of a bus instead of himself, will the CPS apologise to that person's family?

Asked by the coroner if he was concerned about children riding e-scooters, the officer said: 'Yes. I have dealt with a number of incidents involving e-scooters – both private and public trial scooters – including two fatalities and two serious injuries that I can recount off the top of my head.'

The officer said the issue of e-scooters being ridden on pavements was of particular concern.

Perhaps more police walking the beat would help, DS Hughes? 

In a joint statement, headteachers Lynn Petrie and Pete White, said the Voi trial scheme had been 'instantly problematic' from its outset in September 2020 due to children using the machines illegally. The schools, part of the same academy group, said they had written to parents and held assemblies on the issue.

The headteachers added that Mustafa's death seemed to have done little to stop children riding e-scooters, which youths often seen riding past the schools.

So everyone's doing what they can, but Darwin's winning this race as he often does... 

Relatives of Mustafa asked Mr Salmer why facial recognition couldn't be introduced to stop children logging on to accounts they are not registered to. But the regional general manager said it would be 'impractical…from a cost perspective' for all e-scooter providers to introduce such a facility at the moment, without significant subsidy.

So, to prevent your idiot kids killing themselves or others, the scooter company should be able to stick their hand in my pocket? No thanks. 

Preparing That Crop Of Low Hanging Fruit...

Updated legal guidance for prosecutors that was quietly published by the Crown Prosecution service last year includes a list of examples of abuse of 'trans and non-binary victims'.

One is 'withholding money for transitioning', while another is 'refusing to use their preferred name or pronoun.'

Normal politeness is now to be enforced by law? Well, that won't have consequences, will it? 

A third adds: 'Body shaming or criticising the victim for not being 'a real man/woman' if they have not undergone reassignment surgery.'

Even if they do go under the knife, they aren't that. They'll never be that.  

The guidance could conceivably apply to wives 'abusing' their transgender husbands or vice versa, or even children referring to their parents as 'mum' or 'dad' if they have transitioned.

Aha! Easy pickings for the CPS! I was wondering what - apart from Stonewall! - was really driving this...

Ms Forstater, who last week won more than £100,000 in compensation from a think-tank that dropped her over her view that people cannot change their biological sex claimed the new guidelines showed how the CPS has been 'ideologically captured'.

'Captured' implies a fight. They surrendered, Maya. Without a shot being fired.  

Time To Round Up The Usual Suspects?

An animal charity is hunting for an animal abuser who beheaded a cat and placed it at a London playground in a 'uniquely disturbing' incident.

The black and white cat's head was discovered by staff at Homerton Grove Adventure Playground in Hackney on April 24 around 3.30pm, when the staff member opened the park for the afternoon.

Hackney, eh? Isn't that not too far from Islington?

Snatching Defeat From The Jaws Of Victory Again...

In the dock at Reading Crown Court for sentencing on Wednesday, March 9, was Aaron Allen.

The 33-year-old, who lives at Howarth Court, Newbury, was caught by police driving a hired vehicle in the town on December 30, 2021, with around £1,000 worth of cannabis and cocaine worth more than £3,000 in 'deal' bags.

Bang to rights, m'lud! 

Allen admitted possessing the Class B-controlled drug cannabis with intent to supply it. But he insisted the cocaine, a Class A-controlled drug, was for his own use – and this was accepted by the Crown Prosecution Service.

*blinks* Whut..? 

Judge Norton demanded an explanation of that decision from Matthew Knight, prosecuting. She said: "Do explain to me how having that amount of cocaine represents anything other than intent to supply."

Well, yes. We'd all like to know... 

Mr Knight said an expert consulted by police said that, in the absence of any other evidence, the amount of cocaine suggested Allen "may" have been dealing. He added: "As the drugs expert wasn't more forceful in their opinion, it was decided to charge him with simple possession.

"It could have been tested before a jury but the reviewing officer felt the crown didn't have a realistic prospect of conviction."

*sighs* 

Judge Norton later made clear that she did not believe for a moment that the cocaine was purely for Allen's use, but that her hands were tied and she would sentence him according to the lesser charge.

The defence tried the usual mitigation-bollocks, including the fact that 'hey, he's not a thief to fuel his habit, he works for a living!' 

Judge Norton said: "He was arrested with 53 bags of cocaine worth £3,220...I have to say, it doesn't add up.

"The pre-sentence report says he has a cocaine habit costing £20 a day.

"Common sense would dictate that was not all for his own use.

"He was on universal credit but could afford to buy drugs and afford a hire car."

Hurrah! Finally, a judge with...

Oh. 

Nevertheless, she told Allen: "Whatever my cynicism suggests, the fact is you've pleaded guilty to simple possession of cocaine and the prosecution decided to accept that plea.

"I can't go behind that, whatever I might think."

She sentenced Allen to nine months imprisonment.

Judge Norton added: "The guidelines state that, when there's a relatively short sentence, or one on the cusp of a custodial sentence, it may be appropriate to suspend it.

"Given the current state of prisons and the overcrowding, I am going to suspend that sentence for 15 months."

*weeps* 

H/T: Ian J via email 

Five Months Hard Work Down The Drain...

David Avhanvhondo, 56, was stopped and arrested by undercover officers deployed to the area to conduct overnight patrols, at around 4am on February 12, following a five-month investigation.

They are to be commended, because getting the police to take proper notice of animal cruelty is a Herculean task. So what went wrong? 

The case against a man accused of animal cruelty offences, after about 20 cats were found dead in north London, has been dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Oh.  

David Avhanvhondo, 56, had pleaded not guilty to two offences at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court last month.

The CPS told the same court on Friday the case had been discontinued because it no longer met its legal test. The CPS said "there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction".

And that's that. No-one asks why? No-one asks why they thought there was a realistic prospect initially? They don't need to explain why they think there isn't one now? 

Why The CPS Isn't Fit For Purpose...

Following the incident, the Independent Office for Police Conduct began an investigation that concluded PC Welch may have committed a criminal offence due to the standard of his driving. However, the Crown Prosecution Service determined the threshold for bringing charges was not met but following two reviews, the CPS pressed charges against PC Welch in May 2021.

And the jury said 'You must be joking!': 

PC Edward Welch, attached to South Command Unit was acquitted on Wednesday, December 7 following a trial at the Old Bailey.

So there's an end to the matter? Well, no: 

South Area Commander Chief Superintendent David Stringer said: “The deaths of Rozanne Cooper and her 10-year-old nephew Makayah McDermott have naturally left their families devastated.

“Our thoughts remain with them and we offer everyone affected by this terrible incident our sincere condolences.

“Police pursuits must be carried out in very careful and controlled circumstances in line with policy to ensure they do not put anyone at risk.

“The jury has found PC Welch did not commit a criminal offence but misconduct matters will now be carefully considered.”

Guess it's not just the CPS that's not fit for purpose... 

Here We Go Again...

A transgender prison officer who was caught with £3,500-worth of heroin in the car park of a Midlands jail has escaped a jail sentence.

Why was there a transgender prison officer in the first place? 

Prison bosses swooped in on Ollie Griffiths, 29, after a tip-off alleging he was smuggling in contraband for inmates at HMP Featherstone, Staffordshire. A court heard how multiple wraps of heroin were found in the footwell of his car, stuffed into a tube of Pringles crisps, on July 31.

Bang to rights! So how did she - for it is a she - escape with this? 

He was sentenced to a 12-month community order with 100 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay £280 in costs.

Well, would you believe, CPS incompetence? Or laziness? Or desperately helping the Prison Service cover up their mistake in hiring this person?  

Griffiths - formerly known as Holly Griffiths - was spared jail after prosecutors charged him with possession of drugs, and not the more serious charge of intent to supply.

Even the judge said 'WTAF, dude?': 

Asked to explain the 'astonishing' decision by district judge Marcus Waite, Ms Fraser said that reviewing lawyers had told her to proceed on the lesser charge.

Gosh! I wish I could avoid awkward questions by saying 'big boys did it and ran away' when confronted... 

Richard Davenport, defending, said: 'He is no longer employed in the prison service. He has left his parents' address.

'There have been various problems with the family because of his transitioning. He is living in shared accommodation and has got work as a chef.'

Great! Food preparation. That's safer, right? 

Predators Usually Have To Work A Lot Harder For Prey...

Lisa Wilding KC, defending Matturie, suggested what happened between them was, “consensual, willing and enthusiastic” sex, not rape.

Sure, sure. Is there any proof of th...

Oh, 

The woman denied this, claiming the incident left her feeling “shamed and disgusted”. Wilding continued: “When you and he had sex ... you and he filmed that sex. You know that you and he had a discussion beforehand, words to the effect: ‘Let’s make our own little movie’.”

The witness replied: “No. I wouldn’t do that.” Wilding said: “He had his phone right in front of you all the time you and he were having sex.”

The woman replied: “I was not aware of that.” Wilding said: “You looked directly at the camera more than once, enjoying what you were doing?” The woman, who became tearful, replied: “No.”

As I - and other - said over at Tim Worstall's post on this, how on earth did the CPS overlook this video? 

The defence barrister said the woman would be asked to look at some images. The hearing was then adjourned and when court resumed after lunch, Timothy Cray KC, prosecuting, told the court that the prosecution was not now seeking guilty verdicts on alleged sexual offences involving the 19-year-old complainant.

Whoops! 

Prosecutors have alleged Mendy is a “predator”.

Wow, with a hit rate better than that of the black footed cat! Of course, mice don't waltz into its jaws, do they? 

And it seems the CPS didn't pick any winners out of the rest of the bunch either.... 

The CPS Miss Another Open Goal...

The judge said his sentencing powers had been 'significantly curtailed by the decision to accept a guilty plea to a considerably less serious' charge than what he had originally faced.

The judge said he had 'absolutely no doubt whatsoever' that Djabouri would have been facing a longer sentence if he had greater sentencing powers and that Djabouri had played 'a leading role in group activity'.

Three years and seven months in a young offenders institution - which was what he was sentenced to, remember, not what he'll actually serve - is really no justice for beating a man around the head with a brick simply because he was Jewish, one might think... 

Djabouri, of Ilford, east London, admitted at an earlier hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court to grievous bodily harm without intent. This was an alternative to the more serious charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

How can you beat a man around the head with a brick and not intend to cause GBH? The judge was clearly as frustrated: 

'Attacks on members of the Jewish community in this country are becoming increasingly and worryingly commonplace,' the judge said, adding that 'unlike members of some other communities they're easily identifiable by their clothing and appearance'.

They aren't the only ones, though. 

Mohammed Bashir, mitigating, said it was a 'despicable offence' and Djabouri 'shows a genuine level of remorse'.

No he doesn't. If he did, he'd have named his companion who'd be sharing the dock with him...

The bearded defendant, who wore a grey tracksuit and had his dark hair in a ponytail, tried to catch the attention of his barrister from the secure dock after the judge read out his sentence. Djabouri asked a question, and Mr Bashir told him: 'I'll tell you downstairs.'

What does the CPS have to say for themselves for yet another failure to do their job properly? 

A CPS spokesperson said: 'Our decision-making in this case, which took into account the views of the victim and the police, was based on an assessment of whether we had a realistic prospect of conviction in accordance with our legal test.

'The CPS takes antisemitism extremely seriously (Ed: *hollow laughter*) because of the devasting impact it has on victims and wider society.

'Where there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest, we will prosecute these cases.'

No, you'll just look for the fruit that's not even low-hanging, but has already fallen off the tree... 

One Is Coincidence, Two Is Happenstance...

...yeah, I think we all know the rest, don't we?

The news sparked fury from the Campaign Against Antisemitism, who said it was 'beyond belief' that prosecutors had decided to drop the case.

A spokesman said: 'This incident was caught on video that went viral, with plenty of witnesses on the plane, including Ryanair cabin crew.

'It is beyond belief that sufficient evidence cannot be amassed to establish jurisdiction and that potential culprits are free to go without sanction.

'This is the third time in almost as many months that the CPS has dropped or reduced charges against suspects in high-profile anti-Semitic hate crime incidents, and members of the Jewish community are writing to us in indignation.'

Well, quite! How do the CPS wriggle out of this one?

A spokesman said: 'Following a careful review of all the available evidence, we concluded there was insufficient evidence to prove that the alleged offences took place in British airspace and therefore within remit of our courts.'

It's not like planes are tracked to within an inch by radar is it? 'Air Crash Investigation'? No, never heard of the show....  

'The CPS takes racism, homophobia, and anti-Semitism in sport extremely seriously because of the devastating impact it has on victims and wider society.

'Where there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest, we will prosecute these cases. We are working with sporting bodies and the police to advise them on the evidence required to build strong cases so that offenders can be brought to justice.'

You want them to do your job for you? Well, why not? They couldn't do much worse...