Perverse Jury Results...

No, not how a jury can find only one of the two Manchester Airport thugs guilty, despite clear video of the event. A different one:

A mother and father have been found guilty of being in charge of a dog that caused injury while dangerously out of control after their three-year-old son died in a savage attack on a farm.

But don’t start cheering yet, because: 

They were both cleared of gross negligence manslaughter.

How?! 

The prosecution said his parents' negligence meant the toddler was 'alone and unsupervised' when he entered a yard where two large, 'dangerous' and 'powerful' 50kg guard dogs were kept. Although the dogs - a Cane Corso called Sid and Tiny, a Boerboel type dog - belonged to farm owner Matthew Brown, the couple were looking after them at the time and should have known the risks to Daniel, jurors were told.

Indeed, they didn’t need to rely merely on common sense, either, they were specifically warned by the authorities: 

Daniel's parents, of Radcliffe, Greater Manchester, had also ignored warnings from the RSPCA that the animals were a danger, it was claimed.

Furthermore, the jury heard how Rochdale Council Children’s Services staff visited the farm just three days before the attack and expressed concerns, which included signs of 'neglect' of Daniel and that he was 'in danger' from the dogs. The pair asserted that Daniel was used to being around dogs on the farm and they didn’t regard them as dangerous or aggressive.

This was a lie. A blatant one:

The jury were told of a text message she sent to Twigg in the weeks prior to the attack when she said she was 'living in fear', which she said referred to 'a build up of events'. But she admitted wanting to move back to the family home in Blackley, Manchester, and telling a neighbour she was 'terrorised' living at the farm because dogs escaped all the time.

And it wasn’t the only one: 

Mr Elvidge also pressed her on why she’d not mentioned visiting the toilet in her accounts to police. Bedford said she’d just wanted to be with Daniel and 'wasn’t focusing', had felt 'fear' towards police and had suffered PTSD.

From what, we aren’t told. 

The couple were granted bail and will be sentenced on October 10.

But not, I feel sure, to what they deserve. 

The Likely Story To End All Likely Stories

Post office operators yet to claim compensation of at least £600,000 each relating to the Horizon IT scandal have not been chased up by officials because the government did not want to “harass” them with letters, it has emerged.

Who believes that? If you do, I've got a bridge to sell you!

In a report criticising the speed and handling of payouts after the Post Office scandal, the House of Commons public accounts committee (PAC) said the government is taking “insufficient action” identifying all the operators eligible to claim some of the £1.7bn being paid out across four compensation schemes.

When asked by the PAC why it was not following up letters that had not received a reply, the government said that it was “concerned that individuals receiving letters would feel harassed if they had a series of letters asking the same thing”.

Oh, please! Is that really the best they can come up with? 

The Post Office made a pre-tax loss of £612m last year, while its debts have ballooned to more than the value of its assets, and is to close 115 loss-making branches, putting 2,000 jobs at risk.

If it was a horse, it would be heading for the glue-factory in the knacker’s van by now. 

And Now We Get To Keep Him At Taxpayer Expense For God Knows How Many Years....

No real surprises here:

Jurors agreed it was the Brazilian’s insatiable drug habit that drove him to carry out the attack, and he alone was to blame and he was on Wednesday convicted of murder, three counts of attempted murder, possession of a sword, aggravated burglary and wounding with intent.

OK, maybe there's one: 

Indeed, so reliant is Monzo on psychoactive substances that, despite the carnage he knows can be caused, he admitted smoking synthetic cannabinoid Spice while on remand in prison.

I should be surprised by this, but I’m not - are any of our institutions fit for purpose anymore? 

Keep Telling Us It’s A Harmless Drug, Hippies...

Marcus Monzo, 37, admitted that he had been using cannabis 'extensively' which had changed his personality and caused a mental health decline.

Which is  quite the understatement:

In the grip of a cannabis-induced 'psychotic disorder', the Brazilian is said to have strangled, skinned and deboned his cat, Wizard, before attempting to eat it.

No, Reader, not in Brazil, in leafy, pleasant Hainault. This one’s a little too close to home. After killing and mutilating his own pet, he then set off on a rampage which saw him attack several people, killing a schoolboy in the preocess, including police who turned up unarmed to try to halt his rampage with tasers. Why a ARV wasn’t sent, god only knows. It might have spared us taxpayers the farce of a trial of this rabid animal.

Minutes later, Monzo is alleged to have set off with the animal's remains on a baking tray, a number of swords and a ball-bearing gun on a mission to kill, shouting 'does anyone believe in God'. Yesterday Monzo claimed he could not remember killing Daniel Anjorin, 14, as he was walking to school.

Yesterday Monzo told the Old Bailey that he had been consumed by 'paranoia and anxiety'.

No, that wa what your victims felt.

The Same Old Sob Stories To Excuse Savagery...

Mitigating for Miles, Brenda Campbell KC, said Mr Fowler was an entirely innocent victim and the defendant was 'profoundly sorry' for his actions. He had a background of abuse and trauma in his home life, had problems with his mental health from the age of 10 and reported hearing voices at the age of 12.

Which is offered as a reason why he gouged out the eye of a complete stranger to him, a pensioner, then beat that pensioner 19 times over the head with his own walking stick and stamped on his head 8 times.  

Later, his mother had raised concern that he was having 'delusions about religion' but that he had stopped smoking cannabis, Ms Campbell said. The barrister suggested there were 'missed opportunities' for medical professionals to spot the warning signs that Miles was unwell.

Ya think?!? 

Judge Judy Khan KC sentenced Miles to a hospital order with restrictions after hearing he needed ongoing treatment at Broadmoor secure psychiatric hospital. The judge said she would outline her reason for the decision later.

I think we can all guess... 

The court was told Miles was likely to spend years in hospital before he is well enough to be released back into the community.

Maybe he should be released into some other country's community instead of ours, how about that? 

Premeditated Excuses

An 87-year-old great-grandmother who died after being punched to the floor by a stranger at a train station in Birmingham had been trying to break up an argument at a Pret a Manger, MailOnline can reveal.

Dorothy Chiles suffered a broken hip and other injuries in the vicious assault at Birmingham New Street and passed away six weeks later.

The incident isn't recent, either... 

The horrifying incident actually happened on November 19 last year but only came to public attention after British Transport Police revealed earlier this week that Dorothy had died as a result of what they called an 'act of senseless violence'.

It happened after a row began when two strangers bumped into each other - and one made a racist remark, with Dorothy's only involvement as a would -be peacemaker. And one eyewitness to the attack said: 'The old lady was trying to calm her down but the woman just violently punched her. She was killed for her kindness.'

The 'Mail' has tracked down an eyewitness. 

A man who watched the entire episode unfold revealed: 'The older lady had approached the much younger white woman who was shouting and screaming at staff and customers in Pret. 'The woman was clearly very agitated and getting worse.

'She was shouting things about how she was autistic and saying that people were picking on her.

'As the older lady got closer to try and console her, the younger woman without warning spun around and knocked her backwards onto the floor.

'It was kind of a punch with a closed fist and it pushed her over.

'The older woman was left sprawled on the floor and train station staff and other commuters rushed to help her before she was treated by paramedics and taken to hospital in an ambulance.'

Another eyewitness gives an identical statement: 

'Other people started having a go at her about using racist language.

'This seemed to wind her up even more.

'She was shouting loudly and saying 'Why are you having a go at me? Why are you picking on me? I have autism'.

'As she got more and more angry and upset, that's when the older lady who was standing nearby came over I think intending to console her or calm her - but instead she was attacked for her kindness.'

It seems the brandishing of a diagnosis is now used to excuse the following actions. Because it works. 

Police say a woman in her 20s was initially arrested on suspicion of GBH but later held on suspicion of manslaughter and released on conditional bail pending further inquiries.

Who'd bet against her ever seeing the inside of a court? 

*Checks Calendar* Nope, Still Winter

 I got this on Friday when I checked my Tube app:

'Leaf fall'? What leaves are left that haven't already fallen? 

A Clear Case Of Nominative Determinism Here....

Julian Nutter, defending, argued Edge was somewhat acting as a 'Robin Hood' figure by giving people who would struggle to afford a Sky subscription access to the games.

Seriously?!?

'Whether or not he made a significant profit is an issue which is raised. The point should be made on his behalf that the people who would buy his products would not be people who are likely to have the money to buy a Sky subscription,' Mr Nutter said.

The people who rob banks probably don't have a lot of money either. But can we try one last Scouse-oriented throw of the dice here? Reader, Nutter's the man for the job: 

'They have limited income. The people he would be been dealing with in the Merseyside area would hardly be the same as toffs in London who would have money coming in from the city. 'He was providing a service to people who would probably not be able to afford it otherwise. There's an element of a Robin Hood to all that.'

Well, no. So now he's banged up for three years and four months, while these people aren't, and probably gets free Sky in prison!

The Dog Is Following It's Nature. Is The Defence Doing The Same?

Another day, another horrifying attack by an XL Bully....

Ms Muru said Ratteray, who also lives at an address in Oxford Street, Leicester city centre, had no similar previous convictions and nothing at all for the past five years. She said the 41-year-old had bought Cookie for Bott, 34, but he was the registered owner of the XL Bully.

Jabeen Naru, representing both Ratteray and Bott, said the couple had properly obtained an exemption certificate for Cookie, who was a "family pet". She said: "Their children were devastated when the dog was destroyed. Mr Ratteray immediately did follow the dog. He did everything he could to bring his dog under control." She asked the magistrates to be lenient to Bott, due to her lack of involvement in what happened during the incident. She said: "She herself suffers with depression and anxiety. I would like you to consider a conditional discharge for Miss Bott."

But the magistrates, who have the power to jail people for up to six months, decided their powers were not enough to deal with the case.Ratteray and Bott are due to be sentenced at Leicester Crown Court later this month.

So, were the magistrates not convinced by the statements made by the defence? According to Facebook, they'd have been right not to be: 

Fighting dogs gonna savage, defence solicitors gonna lie shamelessly. Both are following their nature. Shouldn't the justice system check what they are actually being told told is true?

H/T: Baz via Twitter 

Well, It Is Nearly Panto Season...

...so let's have a hearty rendition of 'Oh, yes you are': 

 Filters - they can work miracles!

When her week-long trip to Cancun was coming to an end, Ms Hall claimed the men asked her to take two suitcases back with her, which they said contained $250,000 in cash.

'I agreed to it because there was no reason not to. It was just money and I didn't see anything wrong in it,' she said.

If there was 'nothing wrong in it' they'd do it themselves, not recruit some gormless bird! She doesn't even realise she's admitted intending to smuggle here, albeit got the substance wrong...

Her father John Hall, 59, previously defended his daughter, saying all she is guilty of is 'stupidity and naivety'.

That's all that's needed in a smuggler. Is the whole family stupid?

It 'Sends A Message' All Right...

...the message being 'there can be no consequences whatsoever for this behaviour' even when you're caught:

A teacher who was investigated by police for potentially grooming a young student by buying her clothes and giving her hundreds of pounds has avoided being banned from the profession. A misconduct hearing into Guy Hewett’s actions ruled that details of his actions being published online by the watchdog would be “sufficient” enough and “send a message about his behaviour”.

He's done this despite being warned, doesn't that make him more of a risk? 

It was also revealed Mr Hewett’s actions took place despite him receiving a written warning from the school not to contact any students by email, message or social media.

As a result, Mr Hewett was arrested by police, which led to a disciplinary hearing by the school a month later.

And the police investigation? 

A week later the police concluded its investigation with no further action taken...

*sighs* 

Mr Hewett’s health condition is mentioned in the report but redacted due to privacy reasons. It was suggested by the panel whatever this condition was, there was a “clear causal link” between his health and the behaviours demonstrated.

What sort of 'health condition' causes you to behave like this?  

The New 'Oooh, Me Back!' Has Been Discovered...

One in five patients registered to a pair of GP surgeries in the north of England have long Covid, according to a report that lays bare stark regional inequalities. The north-west of England had higher than average numbers of people reporting long Covid symptoms, with just over one in 20 people (5.5%), followed by the north-east and Yorkshire (5.1%).

The report also found the prevalence of long Covid among the most deprived areas of England was 6.3%, almost double the rate in the least deprived areas.

What a shocker, eh, Reader?  

Dr Stephanie Scott, the lead author of the report and senior lecturer in public health at Newcastle University, said: “Long Covid is a complex condition that goes beyond physical and mental symptoms, affecting other parts of people’s lives including their sense of self and professional identity. This can then lead to experiences of social isolation.

“Currently, there is little evidence-based treatment for long Covid and the health system focuses on symptom management. This needs to change. Our research has offered a glimpse into the reality of what it is like to live with this often-debilitating condition and the knock-on effects it has on people’s personal and professional lives.

“I hope that the evidence presented in this report cuts through to policymakers and gets the attention it deserves so more research into long Covid is funded, and so measures can be put into place which enables employers to better support their workforce with long Covid.”

Sounds a lot like 'Gissa job!' to me, Stephanie... 

Huw Edwards Should Have Indulged Himself In Scotland...

A former Stirlingshire councillor has been handed a community payback order after being caught with sexual abuse images of children on his phone. Ewan Dillon, who formerly represented Labour for Bridge of Allan and Dunblane was ordered to complete 270 hours of unpaid work and placed on supervision for two years.

*blinks* Not very serious category, then? 

Reports show the 21-year-old admitted to downloading images on his phone of girls aged between five and ten being raped.

FFS! 

He was given his community payback order on Wednesday 31 July, and had his name added to the sex offenders register for five years.

I'm sure after 5 years he'll be safe and no longer a predator... 

Helen Nisbet, Procurator Fiscal for Tayside, Central & Fife, said: “Ewan Dillon pleaded guilty to and has now been sentenced for possessing horrendous images of child abuse.

“These are not victimless crimes. They perpetuate the humiliation and devastation suffered by child victims of sexual abuse and are an affront to society.

"We will always treat these crimes seriously."

Good god, Helen, I'd hate to see how you'd treat them leniently? Give him the keys to the town, perhaps? 

After being arrested and cautioned, he said: “All I want to say on the record is that it’s an accident.

“It’s a link, something has been downloaded, or sent to me, and I’ve deleted it. The fact of the matter is that it has been on my phone at one point but I deleted it.”

The fact of the matter is that you've got away almost scotfree for something that should have earned you jail time. 

H/T: Wommando via Twitter 

It's A Mugshot, Not A Fashion Shoot!

What happened to make this her mugshot? I thought they had to be a fixed standard?

 

A young mother who kicked another woman in the face and stamped on her head has been jailed.

No pussy pass? That's a revelation!  

Charlotte Katie Unwin, 23, was twice given a chance to stay out of jail for the late-night street attack, York Crown Court heard. But now she is behind bars after the probation service twice sent her back to court for not carrying out Judge Simon Hickey’s order.

“I view your excuses with some scepticism,” the judge told her. “In my judgement it is not unjust to impose an immediate custodial sentence.

“People who stamp other people, particularly young women defenceless on the ground, usually go to prison.”

Not 'usually' enough! Bring on the excuses!  

For Unwin, Graham Parkin said she had seen a man who had intimidated her when attending unpaid work and probation appointments and so she had stopped coming. But the judge said she had not told the probation service about this man.

Because he never existed?  

Mr Parkin said Unwin had difficulties including post traumatic stress disorder because of treatment she had suffered. She had had problems in her childhood that had led to her using “extreme behaviour”.

“She has never had a life,” he said.

But she's no doubt made a lot of other lives a lot more miserable. 

Brooke Morrison, for the probation service, said Unwin had been given five extra days’ rehabilitative activities for breaching the suspended sentence conditions at a hearing in September 2023. For a time after the hearing she had worked with the probation service, but had not co-operated with the service or attended any appointments since the beginning of April. In total, she had only attended 35 appointments out of 82. She had provided acceptable explanations for 26 of the missed appointments, but not for 19 of them.

So it's off to jail, and I suspect, consequences for the first time in her life.  

Let's Have More Female Judges!

To bring their 'unique perspective' to the justice system!

A drunk businesswoman who glassed a pub drinker after he wrongly guessed her age has been spared jail after a female judge said 'one person's banter may be insulting to others'.

So assault with a potentially deadly weapon can be excused? Really?

Mother-of-one Joanne Dodd, 39, flew into a rage and attacked Carl Cooper after he suggested she was 43 in the beer garden of the Unicorn pub in Manchester city centre on September 9 last year. Mr Cooper fled to the toilet in a bid to get away from the heated situation, but when he came out Dodd ran towards him and twice shoved her wine glass in his face.

Not even in the heat of the moment, then? 

At Manchester Crown Court, Dodd, who is from Swinton in Salford, faced up to three years in jail under sentencing guidelines after she admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm. However, she was spared jail and handed a suspended sentence after Judge Elizabeth Nicholls said she was a 'dedicated, hardworking woman' who posed no risk to the public.

Contrast this with her words to a male offender:  

“You are not a teenager, you are 35 and mature enough to understand that you should stop and face the consequences.”

No such consequences for the 'fairer sex', eh, Lizzie? You were pretty lenient with a schoolboy who stabbed his teacher in the face with sissors too, though. And came down pretty harshly on pedophile hunters rather than pedophile victims, it has to be said.

The judge told Dodd: 'It is obvious that you had been drinking heavily and there was undoubtedly some verbal exchange between you and the other group.

'You did not appreciate the comments made by Mr Cooper and one person's banter may be insulting to other people but that did not justify what you then went on to do.'

Why are you trying so hard to justify it for her, then? 

'Your conduct was incomprehensible.

'The only explanation that can really be put forward is that you were under the influence of drink, which does you no credit.

I though judges had to know Latin? Like, in vino veritas?  

'It was no doubt traumatic for Mr Cooper and it would have had an impact on him. Fortunately he seems to have made a good recovery. 'I have seen the photo where the scar is barely noticeable but to him it will be a constant reminder of your conduct on that night. There was a very unpleasant injury, it is a grave injury, but fortunately there is no permanent disfigurement.'

If he has a visible scar, that's permanent disfigurement, no matter the size or hidability.  

'There is no doubt that this offence is so serious that it crosses the custody threshold. The issue is whether the sentence is immediate or can be suspended.'

'Perhaps more importantly you are a mother of a young child. Although, no doubt, the child would be taken care of, an immediate term of imprisonment would have a devastating effect on your child. It would be disproportionate to the sentence that needs to be imposed.'

Ah. So women can be spared the consequences of their actions (by another woman, no less!) provided they've reproduced. That's not even a unique perspective, it seems to be shared by far too many of her male colleagues. 

Soft Justice For Junior Psychopaths...

Aminal slaughterers:

She said: 'You have had a taste of custody for a couple of days and it really isn't pleasant. 'If you come back into this court things will not be as pleasant as they are now. It's horrific what you've done... absolutely horrific.

'It's well you are not adults because you would have faced a significant time in custody.'

In total, the cost of compensation was £59,000 of which each boy was ordered to pay £200 each, for which their parents will be liable. 

Attempted murderers:

The defendant, then a 16-year-old boy, was arrested at the scene after the attack just after midnight on June 9 last year.

He was wearing just his boxer shorts and claimed he was sleepwalking when he attacked the two boys and the housemaster.

What we tolerate, we see more of. And tolerate it is what we seem to be intending to do well into the future. So we will probably see more scenes like the one last week in Ammanford. 

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared in court earlier today after being charged with three counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article following the incident at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman (Aman Valley School).

The father of the girl charged now says it took him hours to find out his daughter was allegedly at the centre of the incident, claiming the school and police did not want to speak to him.

He says he found out she was allegedly involved online. He added that he had not been given a police liaison officer and was worried about 'reprisals from the community'.

You're not the victim here, the three people stabbed are the victims!  

District Judge Mark Layton said remanding a 13-year-old into youth justice detention was a 'difficult decision' in a hearing that lasted around 20 minutes.

What on earth was 'difficult' about it?!  

And ‘These People’ Isn’t Who You Might Think…

Who does she mean, Reader?

Things have changed in my local sandwich shop. Every so often, in the middle of ringing through my americano, the server will go stock still, like a savannah predator who has spotted a tiny rustling movement in the grass. Then, whiskers twitching, he will suddenly dart out from behind the counter and rush after some youth who has just made it out of the door, swipe their pilfered lunch from their hands in one practised movement, and then return with the spoils: a Coke, say, or a chicken wrap, to general applause. He doesn’t appear to have been harmed, yet, by his light-fingered customers — but I do worry about him. It seems to be getting worse.

Is it, perhaps, 'shoplifters'?

Labour has fingered a culprit: this week Yvette Cooper put the blame on what she called a “shoplifters’ charter” — a change brought in under Theresa May which made lifting an item under £200 a mere “summary offence”, intended to speed things up and take the burden off the courts: police can deal with it themselves. Cooper has argued that this cut deterrents and has therefore encouraged more crime.

Oh, so it's one of Britain's worst PMs in living memory, then? But she's only one person (thank heavens!). 

Removing the lesser “summary offence” will mean shoplifters will have to be sent through the court system, putting more strain on a service which already has a vast backlog. Ramping up deterrents for this relatively low-level crime will also send vulnerable people to jail.

Oh oh! When the new meaning of 'vulnerable' comes in, you can tell where this is heading... 

But stricter rules mean little if you can’t catch offenders in the first place. And this is hard to do, even with far more police on the case.

Your sandwich shop man managed it.  

First, shoplifting is generally done surreptitiously within the store — the steak in the coat pocket, the baby formula in the nappy bag — but shops are not public spaces, so police can’t follow suspicious people down the aisles.

That's what security guards are for!  

All they can do is patrol past the door — an obstacle the practiced shoplifter can overcome by waiting until they pass. Police can’t frisk everyone on the way out.

Here’s the problem that neither party can face up to. The real culprits behind the rise in shoplifting may also be among its victims: large chain stores. And the real solution may not in fact lie with the justice system. Let me explain.

Well, who had supermarkets on their bingo card? Certainly not me!  

While automation has generally reduced crime — new locking systems have virtually eliminated car theft — in large chain stores it has done the opposite.

Car theft is up not down! 

A rise in sensors and self-checkout, particularly during the pandemic, has saved these shops money on staff but has created losses elsewhere: it has made it much easier to steal things. Why didn’t these shops put people straight back behind the tills once they realised what was going on? Well, perhaps they were making a cost-benefit calculation — writing off stock shrinkage against savings in salaries. Fair enough, but what if it is the lawlessness generated by these policies that has now resulted in thefts in my local sandwich shop? Once theft becomes normalised, it can spread. It is unfair for large retailers to strip their shops of staff and then place the burden of resulting crimes on the state.

That's not convincing, frankly. I use these self-service tills when I have to, yet I've never waltzed into Greggs and swiped a sandwich then walked out without paying. Why do some people do it?  

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? 

Does 'Boss' Mean Something Different These Days?

Questions are urgently being asked over who is to blame for the proposed editing out of disabled children from school photos, with a boss of the photography firm at the centre of the scandal insisting 'it is not company policy.' Terence Tempest, 70, was unable to explain why parents had been given the option - as he vowed to investigate how the fiasco came to be.

Shouldn't he already know, if it's his company and he's a boss of it? Wouldn't he have tried to find out the moment this all blew up?

He revealed 'heartbroken' bosses were locked in crisis meetings to discover 'what the hell happened', and described the suggestion to delete children with complex needs from the class pictures as 'unacceptable'.

Clearly not, since someone at the company accepted the suggestion, or - worse - suggested it themselves! Maybe this company has too many 'bosses' to run properly?

'If I was in that position I would want an apology. I don't run the company and I'm in touch with the managing director at the moment and they will decide what to do.'

It sounds like he's the only one who decided to be the spokesperson, even though everything he says sounds like he's digging a deeper hole for the company... 

He said: 'I'm not sure what the current policy is frankly, it depends what we are asked to do. We just respond to what we are asked for.

'We have got another meeting coming up and will find out whether the photographer was asked to do it. Did they do it off their own back?'

If it turns out the school requested it, this is going to run and run.  

I'm Guessing She Wouldn't Have Passed An IQ Test...

The Old Bailey heard today how all four individuals had been drinking on the night of the incident, but driver Aidonojie passed a breathalyser test taken two hours after the crash.

Come to think of it, neither would her passengers:

A driver killed her two friends who were ‘twerking’ in the back of her convertible Mini Cooper as it sped at more than double the speed limit before crashing and overturning, a court heard today.

Adele Ojokie Aidonojie, 23, denies causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving after Rida Boujetif and Mary Macharia, both 23, were killed following the car crash in Battersea, west London, in the early hours of July 16, 2022. The back-seat passengers were not wearing seat belts as Aidonojie's car travelled at approximately 62mph on Latchmere Road, which has a 30mph speed limit, while the vehicle's roof was down.Both women were flung from the car following the collision and suffered fatal head injuries as a result.

Ben Sidibe, a front seat passenger, was also taken to hospital with a fractured upper arm.

Absolutely no loss whatsoever to society here. 

Ms Mertens said Aidonojie told a witness at the scene: ‘Don’t call the police or ambulance, I’ll get arrested.’ Aidonojie said there had been a ‘hit and run’, and asked another witness if the street had cameras, the court heard.

It's London, what are the odds? 

Aidonojie, of Edgeborough Way, Bromley, denies two counts of death by dangerous driving and one count of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Good luck with that!