Posts Tagged ‘#twitterjoketrial – Paul Chambers’
#twitterjoketrial – Paul Chambers, Tony Blair and a case of extreme stupidity
IN September 2010, Paul Chambers lost his appeal against a conviction of “menace” for threatening to blow up an airport. His “foolish prank” on Twitter would stand as a sign that only quick thinking and rule of law prevented carnage.
In January 2010, Chambers tweeted to his friend Sarah Tonner, aka @crazycolours, his frustration that snow had stymied their efforts to hook up at her place in Northern Ireland:
“Crap! Robin Hood airport is closed. You’ve got a week and a bit to get your shit together otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high!!”
Staff at Doncaster’s Robin Hood airport saw the tweet. They called the police. The police called the Crown Prosecution Service. They said Chambers had a case to answer:
The Crown Prosecution Service caused controversy by using a law aimed against nuisance calls – originally to protect “female telephonists at the Post Office” in the 1930s – rather than specific bomb hoax legislation, which requires stronger evidence of intent.
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Posted: 8th, February 2012 | In: Key Posts, Reviews | Comments (2)
