...rainy streets, neon signs, disused stations and broken lines...
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
G20 bra girl charged for posing as a police officer
Here's how ridiculous our cops can be:
Eleven G20 campaigners are being prosecuted for impersonating police officers despite some being half-dressed and wielding toy machineguns. The protesters, who call themselves the Space Hijackers, claim today it was obvious they were taking part in an April Fool's Day joke as world leaders met in London on 1 April.
They were arrested as they drove an armoured personnel carrier through the City while playing Wagner's Ride Of The Valkyries over a loudspeaker.
Leah Borromeo, 30, a freelance journalist who was wearing a riot helmet and boiler suit rolled down to the waist to reveal a black bra, said: 'If I'm guilty of anything it's of impersonating a stripper, not a police officer. Our lawyers never thought anyone would be charged because it is so ridiculous. It is a farcical case.'
Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer decided they must face a four-day trial despite critics describing the charges as 'a terrible abuse of power'.
The offence carries a maximum sentence of three months and the case has reportedly already cost the taxpayer tens of thousands of pounds.
Experts have called for the case to be withdrawn. The Met was heavily criticised over its handling of the protests. Apart from the Space Hijackers case, the police and Crown Prosecution Service have proceeded with only a handful of charges of violent disorder and criminal damage.
