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Category: UK
June 6, 2025
Christopher Tomlinson
Crime
UK

Convicted Pedo Avoids Prison Twice Because He’s Trans.

PULSE POINTS:

❓What Happened: A transgender pedophile has managed to avoid prison twice despite violating the initial terms of his release because he is transgender.

👥 Who’s Involved: Convicted pedophile Peter Selby, Judge Robert Adams.

📍 Where & When: Selby was initially convicted for child abuse material in 2022, was arrested for violating the terms of his release in 2023, and was let go yet again on June 3.

💬 Key Quote: Selby would “undoubtedly be at risk of physical or sexual assault in custody because of [his] presentation in a male prison,” claimed Judge Adams.

⚠️ Impact: The case is just the latest to see a transgender pedophile avoid prison in England, while people who posted “hate” on social media remain behind bars.

IN FULL:

A convicted pedophile has managed to escape imprisonment twice despite possessing over 125,000 child sex abuse images and videos and breaching a sexual harm prevention order, because of his transgender identity. A British judge initially convicted 71-year-old Peter Selby in 2022, sentencing him to just 14 months in prison, despite the maximum sentence being up to 10 years, suspended for two years.

According to the judge in the case, Selby risked harm behind bars and would be safer living in his local community with some restrictions placed on his behaviour. Selby was placed on the sex offenders register, according to the news website Reduxx, and was restricted from downloading VPN software, which could hide his Internet usage. These restrictions were to last at least 10 years.

However, just months later, in 2023, Selby was visited by local police, who found that he had already violated the restrictions placed on him as a condition for his release by downloading VPN software. During an appearance at Newcastle Crown Court on June 3, Selby claimed to have been unaware of downloading the software.

While the police found no additional child sex abuse material (CSAM), the downloading of the VPN was a clear breach of the terms of his release. Judge Robert Adams acknowledged that Selby had violated the agreement, saying it was in place to make it more difficult for Selby to re-offend.

Judge Adams did not activate Selby’s suspended sentence and put him in prison, however, saying that Selby would “undoubtedly be at risk of physical or sexual assault in custody because of [his] presentation in a male prison.” Instead, Selby was given another 10-month suspended sentence and a paltry fine equivalent to $135.

Transgender pedophiles have avoided jail in the United Kingdom before, including a case in 2023 in which a man who dresses as a woman was caught with dozens of CSAM images. Due to his transgender identity, the court could not decide to put him in a men’s or women’s prison and eventually let him go with an order to attend 30 days of rehabilitation, pay victim surcharges, and be added to the sex offender register.

The two cases are a stark contrast to that of Lucy Connolly, a woman sentenced to over two years in prison for a social media post during the Southport anti-mass migration riots last year, merely for saying she would not care if migrant hotels were set on fire.

Image by Oriel Frankie Ashcroft.

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June 5, 2025
Jack Montgomery
UK

BREAKING: Zia Yusuf Out as Chairman of Farage’s Reform Party After Burka Row.

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❓What Happened: Zia Yusuf resigned as chairman of Nigel Farage’s Reform Party, after callings its newest Member of Parliament (MP) “dumb” for advocating a burka ban.

👥 Who’s Involved: Zia Yusuf, Reform Party, Nigel Farage, and Sarah Pochin.

📍 Where & When: Announced via X (formerly Twitter) on June 5, 2025.

💬 Key Quote: “I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time,” Yusuf said.

⚠️ Impact: Yusuf’s exit paves the way for significant changes to Farage’s top team.

IN FULL:

Zia Yusuf has announced his resignation as chairman of Nigel Farage’s Reform Party, hours after publicly criticizing the party’s newest Member of Parliament (MP) for pushing for a burka ban.

“[Eleven] months ago I became Chairman of Reform. I’ve worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30 percent, quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results,” Yusuf said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office,” he added.

Yusuf, a Muslim businessman, had criticized Sarah Pochin MP, after she had grilled Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on introducing a ban on the Islamic burka in the House of Commons.

Yusuf said on Wednesday that banning the burka was not party policy and Pochin was stupid for asking Starmer the question, writing that it was “dumb for a party to ask the PM if they would do something the party itself wouldn’t do.”

The National Pulse Editor-in-Chief Raheem Kassam, a former advisor to Nigel Farage, suggested in March that the Reform leader should consider replacing Yusuf, who was previously at the center of a spat with now-former Reform MP Rupert Lowe.

“Farage isn’t a dictator. He’s one of the most reasonable people in politics. He’s moved aside when it made sense, and he’s returned when asked,” Kassam said of Farage’s leadership style in comments to the British press.

“He’s also a meritocrat. If someone comes along who can run the party better than its current chairman, or if a deputy could help augment the work, he’d be all over it,” he continued, adding: “The problem is everyone has his number and any time anyone has a problem in the party they immediately call Nigel, and drag him into their fights. If he doesn’t side with them, or tries to stay neutral, they lash out. I’ve seen it a thousand times.”

“If anything, he needs a militant chief of staff to police his time and keep him above the fray. This is the next Prime Minister we’re talking about now… They need to get his team right and support him wholeheartedly. No one has put more into this movement than him,” Kassam concluded.

Farage has offered a magnanimous response to Yusuf’s departure, writing that he is “genuinely sorry that Zia Yusuf has decided to stand down as Reform UK Chairman” as he was “a huge factor” in the party’s recent triumph in England’s local elections.

“Politics can be a highly pressured and difficult game and Zia has clearly had enough. He is a loss to us and public life,” he added.

This story is developing…

Image by Z979.

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June 4, 2025
Jack Montgomery
Media
UK

Jon Stewart Promotes Discredited Brexit Conspiracy Theorist and Her New ‘Girl Power’ Blog.

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❓What Happened: Jon Stewart hosted Carole Cadwalladr on The Daily Show, where she fearmongered about a “techno-authoritarian surveillance state” while promoting her Substack and nonprofit, while glossing over her history of discredited, Russiagate-style anti-Brexit conspiracy theories.

👥 Who’s Involved: Jon Stewart, Carole Cadwalladr, and Brexit campaign organizer and donor Arron Banks.

📍 Where & When: The Daily Show, with the interview airing on June 3, 2025.

💬 Key Quote: “There should be no reward for knowingly lying in journalism. In fact, quite the opposite. There should be harsh and punitive measures to discourage activists masquerading as reporters and leading the public astray, especially at their financial cost.” — The National Pulse Editor-in-Chief Raheem Kassam, after Cadwalladr lost a defamation case over her Brexit allegations in 2023.

⚠️ Impact: Stewart’s uncritical platforming of Cadwalladr amplifies her discredited narrative, undermining tech reforms while glossing over her established history of peddling anti-Brexit misinformation.

IN FULL:

On June 3, 2025, Jon Stewart hosted British journalist Carole Cadwalladr on The Daily Show, giving her a platform to warn of a “techno-authoritarian surveillance state” driven by tech firms. Stewart helped Cadwalladr promote her Substack, “How to Survive the Broligarchy,” and her nonprofit, The Citizens—but failed to address Cadwalladr’s history of discredited anti-Brexit conspiracy theories.

Stewart briefly referenced a defamation lawsuit brought against Cadwalladr by Arron Banks, an ally of Nigel Farage and key organizer and donor for the Leave.EU campaign during the 2016 Brexit referendum, over a 2019 TED Talk, and a social media post implying ties to Russia.

“They really tried to destroy you,” Stewart said of the case—failing to mention the courts ruled comprehensively in Banks’s favor. Cadwalladr had falsely alleged Kremlin involvement in and even illicit Russian funding of Banks’s Leave.EU campaign, swaying the Brexit vote through dark money. As with similar Russia-based conspiracies levelled against President Donald J. Trump, Cadwalladr earned journalistic accolades such as the Specialist Journalist of the Year 2017 award and an Orwell Prize for Political Journalism, lending credence to her outlandish reporting, only for it to crumble under legal scrutiny.

Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) found no evidence of Russian money or collusion. In 2022, the High Court ruled her false statements caused “serious harm” to Banks’s reputation, ordering her to pay £1.24 million (~$1.7m) in costs and £35,000 (~$47,500) in damages.

“There should be no reward for knowingly lying in journalism. In fact, quite the opposite. There should be harsh and punitive measures to discourage activists masquerading as reporters and leading the public astray, especially at their financial cost,” commented Raheem Kassam, Editor-in-Chief of The National Pulse, following the ruling.

During the Stewart interview, Cadwalladr shifted focus to modern data practices, criticizing the lack of artificial intelligence (AI) regulation in the U.S., noting a proposed ten-year ban on state-level regulation of the technology in the “one big beautiful bill.” However, the purpose of this provision is not to prevent AI regulation, but to prevent far-left California, where many tech firms are based, from having de facto control over AI regulation nationwide and even worldwide.

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June 4, 2025
UK

Brexit Britain Dodges Trump’s 50% Steel, Aluminum Tariff Bullet.

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❓What Happened: The United Kingdom has been excluded from a U.S. executive order that doubles steel and aluminum tariffs from 25 percent to 50 percent.

👥 Who’s Involved: U.S. President Donald Trump, the British government, and U.S. firms importing steel and aluminum.

📍 Where & When: President Trump’s executive order was signed in the U.S. on Tuesday evening, impacting international trade.

💬 Key Quote: A British government spokesman stated it remains “committed to protecting British business and jobs across key sectors, including steel as part of our plan for change.”

⚠️ Impact: British exporters avoid the immediate tariff hike, showcasing a benefit of Britain leaving the European Union (EU) and regaining control over its international trade policy. However, it faces potential increases if the terms of the U.S.-UK Economic Prosperity Deal are not met by July 9.

IN FULL:

The United Kingdom has avoided a tariff increase under a new executive order signed by U.S. President Donald J. Trump that doubles steel and aluminum import taxes for many countries. While the order raises tariffs on these materials from 25 percent to 50 percent for most nations, Britain, which regained control over international trade policy on exiting the European Union (EU), will maintain a lower rate—at least for now.

The exemption hinges on compliance with the U.S.-UK Economic Prosperity Deal (EPD), agreed between the Trump administration and the British government on May 8. According to the order, if the United Kingdom fails to meet the terms of the EPD by July 9, the tariff rate could rise to 50 percent.

The executive order, signed on Tuesday evening, aims to increase costs for U.S. firms importing steel and aluminum from abroad, bolstering the American steel industry.

The exemption for Britain provides relief for British exporters, who would otherwise face significant financial strain under the heightened tariffs.

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June 3, 2025
Immigration
UK

UK Faces £1bn Illegal Immigration Bill as Smugglers Rake In $130m.

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❓What Happened: Over 1,000 illegal immigrants crossed the English Channel in a single day, highlighting escalating issues with illegal crossings from the European Union (EU) into the United Kingdom.

👥 Who’s Involved: Illegal immigrants, people smugglers, British taxpayers, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, the French government.

📍 Where & When: The English Channel; crossings peaked on Saturday, May 31, with 1,194 arrivals.

💬 Key Quote: Centre for Migration and Economic Prosperity (CMEP) Director Steven Woolfe said, “Today, people smugglers are laughing in the face of the British people.”

⚠️ Impact: British taxpayers have spent £732 million (~$991.4 million) on Channel migrants this year, with people smugglers profiting £96 million (~$130 million) since January.

IN FULL:

Close to 1,200 illegal immigrants crossed the English Channel in a single day over the weekend, sparking criticism of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s handling of border security. Figures from the Centre for Migration and Economic Prosperity (CMEP) reveal the crossings have cost British taxpayers £732 million so far this year, with people smugglers profiting £96 million since January.

Saturday’s surge saw 1,194 illegal immigrants arrive on British shores, bringing the total for 2023 to 14,652. CMEP data shows that since 2018, taxpayers have spent over £8 billion (~$10.8 billion) on the 165,427 illegal immigrants known to have crossed the Channel. Meanwhile, smugglers have amassed more than £1 billion (~$1.34 billion) in profits since 2018.

The crossings come as France’s efforts to prevent boats from leaving its shores appear to be declining. French authorities intercepted just 38 percent of small boats this year, down from 45 percent in 2022 and 46.9 percent in 2021, despite Britain having paid £800 million to France since 2015 to address the issue.

Images from the northern French coast show illegal aliens wading into shallow waters to board small boats, often launched from rivers farther inland. Defence Secretary John Healey attributed the record crossings to French police failing to intervene in these areas, admitting, “Britain lost control of its borders five or six years ago.”

CMEP Director Steven Woolfe criticized the ongoing crisis, saying, “Today, people smugglers are laughing in the face of the British people. Whilst they make [a billion pounds], the British are paying £8 billion a year to house, feed, and look after their clients.”

Projections suggest 2025 could see record Channel crossings, with estimates of up to 52,263 boat migrants, potentially costing Britain nearly £3 billion in the first year alone.

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June 2, 2025
Jack Montgomery
Religion
UK

Islamic Blasphemy Laws Enforced As Man Convicted for Burning Quran.

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❓What Happened: A court in Britain has convicted a man for burning the Islamic Quran during a protest outside the Turkish consulate, igniting backlash from free speech advocates who say the ruling revives the country’s defunct blasphemy laws.

👤Who’s Involved: Hamit Coskun, Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Judge John McGarva, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Free Speech Union.

🧾Key Quote: “This decision is wrong. It revives a blasphemy law that Parliament repealed,” said Robert Jenrick, Shadow Justice Secretary.

⚠️Fallout: Coskun’s conviction under the Public Order Act for “religiously aggravated disorderly conduct” drew sharp criticism from civil liberties groups and sparked plans for a legal appeal, potentially reaching the European Court of Human Rights.

📌Significance: The case underscores growing concerns over free speech in the United Kingdom, where critics argue religious sensitivities are being prioritized over basic protest rights—particularly when it comes to Islam.

IN FULL:

A British court has found 50-year-old atheist Hamit Coskun guilty of a “religiously aggravated public order offence” after he publicly burned a copy of the Quran during a political protest in central London. Coskun, an Armenian-Kurdish asylum seeker who fled Turkey citing persecution, was convicted on Monday at Westminster Magistrates’ Court after a one-day trial.

The February 13 demonstration took place outside the Turkish consulate in Knightsbridge, where Coskun shouted “Islam is religion of terrorism” and “F**k Islam” while holding the burning Islamic text over his head. Moments later, he was violently attacked by a passerby who appeared to slash at him with a blade and kicked him to the ground. That man is due to stand trial in 2027.

Despite claims from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) that Coskun was not prosecuted for destroying the book in itself, but for the “disorderly” nature of burning the book, the case has reignited a fierce debate over whether the United Kingdom is reintroducing blasphemy laws by stealth. Initially, Coskun was charged with harassing the “religious institution of Islam,” with the charges being revised after public outcry.

Judge John McGarva acknowledged flaws in the original CPS charge, which referred to Islam “as if it was a person,” but upheld the revised charge. He rejected arguments from Coskun’s defense team that his protest was aimed at criticizing a religion, not its followers, and therefore protected speech.

“You don’t distinguish between the two,” McGarva insisted during sentencing. “I find you have a deep-seated hatred of Islam and its followers.”

Coskun was fined £240 (~$325) and is currently in hiding.

The Free Speech Union (FSU) and the National Secular Society (NSS), both of which funded Coskun’s defense, condemned the ruling and announced plans to appeal. “This is deeply disappointing,” the FSU said in a statement. “Religious tolerance doesn’t require non-believers to respect the blasphemy codes of believers.”

Robert Jenrick, Shadow Justice Secretary and former immigration minister, said the court’s decision “revives a blasphemy law that Parliament repealed,” adding: “Free speech is under threat. I have no confidence in Two-Tier Keir [Starmer] to defend the rights of the public to criticise all religions.”

The United Kingdom repealed its last formal blasphemy statutes in 2008, but recent prosecutions under the Public Order Act—particularly those involving Islam—have alarmed critics who argue religious protections are being selectively enforced.

Coskun, who had fled Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Islamist regime, testified that his protest was a direct response to government oppression in his home country. His lawyer, Katy Thorne KC, said the ruling effectively criminalizes any public burning of a religious book, regardless of motive or message, warning that it “chills the right of citizens to criticise religion.”

The FSU has pledged to appeal the ruling all the way to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary.

Image by Frankie Fouganthin.

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May 31, 2025
News
UK

UK to Allocate 3% of GDP to Defense as Trump Pressures NATO Allies.

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❓What Happened: The British government has committed to increasing defense spending to three percent of GDP by 2034, with an interim target of 2.5 percent by April 2027.

👥 Who’s Involved: Defence Secretary John Healey, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, former international development minister Anneliese Dodds, President Donald J. Trump, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

📍 Where & When: NATO meeting scheduled for next month in The Hague, Netherlands.

💬 Key Quote: John Healey stated, “It allows us to plan for the long term. It allows us to deal with the pressures.”

⚠️ Impact: The increase in defense spending will be offset by cuts to foreign aid, and follows a pressure campaign from President Trump to have European NATO members pay more towards their continent’s defense.

IN FULL:

The British government has committed to raising defense spending to three percent of GDP by 2034, with an interim target of 2.5 percent by April 2027, according to Defence Secretary John Healey. Healey, of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, described the move as part of a “certain decade of rising defence spending” and expressed confidence in meeting the targets, stating, “It allows us to plan for the long term. It allows us to deal with the pressures.”

The announcement follows Prime Minister Starmer’s earlier pledge to strengthen Britain’s resilience in a “more dangerous world.” The British government is conducting a strategic defense review (SDR) to assess the roles, capabilities, and reforms needed for the armed forces. The review aims to ensure that the spending increases remain “deliverable and affordable” within the planned 2.5 percent trajectory.

Funding for the defense budget boost will come from a reduction in foreign aid, which will be cut from 0.5 percent to 0.3 percent of gross national income (GNI). The decision, which has angered many in Starmer’s leftist party, follows pressure from U.S. President Donald J. Trump to make European NATO members pay more towards their continent’s defense.

NATO leaders are preparing to meet in The Hague next month, where defense spending is expected to dominate discussions. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, speaking earlier this month in Dayton, Ohio, suggested that the alliance could agree on a collective target of five percent of GDP for defense spending.

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May 29, 2025
Jack Montgomery
NatSec
UK

China Cheers Britain’s Surrender of U.S. Base Islands to Ally Mauritius.

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❓ What Happened: Communist China is celebrating British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s surrender of the Chagos Islands to its ally Mauritius as a “massive achievement,” contradicting Starmer’s claim that Beijing opposed it. The Indian Ocean archipelago hosts a strategic British-American military base.

👥 Who’s Involved: Keir Starmer, Chinese Ambassador Huang Shifang, Mauritius, and the U.S. military.

📍 Where & When: The British government signed the Chagos deal with Mauritius on May 22, although ratification is still pending.

💬 Key Quote: “China offers massive congratulations to Mauritius for securing the disputed territory,” Ambassador Huang Shifang said.

⚠️ Impact: Starmer’s deal weakens British and American security, hands China a strategic win, and undermines Trump’s America First stance by risking the Diego Garcia base’s integrity.

IN FULL:

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is celebrating British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s surrender of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, bolstering Beijing’s influence in the Indian Ocean at the expense of Western security. On May 27, 2025, China’s ambassador to Mauritius, Huang Shifang, hailed the agreement as a “massive achievement,” directly contradicting Starmer’s claim that Beijing opposed the transfer of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius.

Mauritius, aligned with China’s Belt and Road Initiative, will be paid billions of pounds by the British government for the privilege of taking the islands. This is in part to pay for a 99-year lease on the island of Diego Garcia, which hosts a major American military base alongside a small British contingent.

Speaking at the Chinese embassy in Mauritius, Ambassador Huang offered “massive congratulations” to Mauritius for securing the territory. She confirmed China “fully supports” Mauritius’s sovereignty push and revealed plans for the island nation to join the Belt and Road Initiative, a sprawling infrastructure project advancing Beijing’s global influence.

Huang also tied Mauritius’s Chagos claim to China’s One-China policy, drawing parallels between the Chagos dispute and China’s stance on Taiwan. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs echoed this, urging Mauritius to join Belt and Road “as soon as possible” to build a “China-Africa community with a shared future.”

Starmer’s deal, finalized on May 22, 2025, transfers sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, formally the British Indian Ocean Territory, to Mauritius along with £30 billion (~$40.5 billion) over 99 years, in exchange for a lease of Diego Garcia, where Britain was previously sovereign at no cost. However, the Diego Garcia base could now be undermined and potentially rendered redundant if Mauritius allows China to establish a base on another of the Chagos Islands nearby.

Starmer claimed the one-sided agreement was necessary to secure the base, after the International Court of Justice issued an opinion in favor of Mauritius’s territorial claims. However, the United Nations court’s opinion was non-binding and unenforceable, and Starmer was under no obligation to obey it. He also asserted that Britain’s allies supported the deal while “Russia, China, [and] Iran” opposed it, which has now been exposed as a lie by China’s enthusiastic endorsement.

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May 28, 2025
Jack Montgomery
1A
UK

Trump Admin Threatens to Deny Visas to UK Government Censors.

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❓What Happened: The Trump administration announced a visa ban targeting British officials involved in censoring American citizens, warning that foreign actors who trample free speech rights will no longer be welcome in the United States.

👤Who’s Involved: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, British media regulator Ofcom, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley, and Lucy Connolly, a British mother imprisoned for a social media post.

🧾Key Quote: “We will not tolerate encroachments upon American sovereignty, especially when such encroachments undermine the exercise of our fundamental right to free speech,” said Rubio.

⚠️Fallout: British officials were blindsided by the announcement and are scrambling for answers from the White House, as pro-censorship authorities face mounting scrutiny from Washington.

📌Significance: The move marks a sharp escalation in the Trump administration’s effort to push back against globalist speech controls and defend the First Amendment from foreign interference.

IN FULL:

British government officials involved in censoring American citizens could soon be barred from setting foot in the United States under a sweeping new measure from the Trump administration. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the visa restrictions on Wednesday, directly targeting foreign bureaucrats and regulators deemed “complicit in censoring” Americans online.

The policy appears to be aimed at Ofcom, the British government media regulator responsible for enforcing the controversial Online Safety Act—a law that critics say enables sweeping censorship and punishes American tech companies with massive fines. Under the legislation, platforms that fail to remove so-called “harmful content” face penalties of up to £18 million (~$24.4 million) or 10 percent of annual revenue, placing U.S.-based firms in the crosshairs of British law.

“For too long, Americans have been fined, harassed, and even charged by foreign authorities for exercising their free speech rights,” Rubio said. “It is unacceptable for foreign officials to issue or threaten arrest warrants on U.S. citizens or U.S. residents for social media posts on American platforms while physically present on U.S. soil.”

The Trump administration has taken particular offense at the British government’s attempts to impose extra-territorial censorship, with Rubio adding: “It is… unacceptable for foreign officials to demand that American tech platforms adopt global content moderation policies or engage in censorship activity that reaches beyond their authority and into the United States.”

The announcement reportedly caught British officials off guard, with diplomats urgently seeking clarity from Washington. The warning comes just days after it was reported that the White House is actively “monitoring” the case of Lucy Connolly, a British mother sentenced to 31 months in prison for a social media post about a mass stabbing targeting young girls in Southport, England, perpetrated by the son of two African asylum seekers.

That case drew international concern after British officials threatened to prosecute or extradite Americans who violated their hate speech laws online. “We will throw the full force of the law at people,” warned Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley at the time. “Whether you’re in this country committing crimes on the streets or committing crimes from further afield online, we will come after you.”

In response, U.S. State Department officials from the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor traveled to London in March. The diplomats reportedly met with pro-life activists—imprisoned for as little as silently praying inside their heads near abortionist clinics under laws restricting freedom of expression and religion.

The Vice President has taken a personal interest in censorship in Britain and Europe more broadly, warning during a speech in Germany, “In Britain and across Europe, free speech, I fear, is in retreat.”

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May 28, 2025
News
UK

Cops Cleared After Tazing, Macing Wheelchair-Bound 92-Year-Old in Nursing Home.

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❓What Happened: Two Sussex Police officers were found not guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in the case of a 92-year-old disabled man who was pepper-sprayed, hit with a baton, and tasered at an English nursing home.

👥 Who’s Involved: Police Constable (PC) Stephen Smith, PC Rachel Comotto, Donald Burgess (now-deceased 92-year-old amputee and dementia patient), care home staff, and Burgess’s family.

📍 Where & When: Park Beck care home, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, England, June 2022.

💬 Key Quote: “The reason for his behaviour that day, we now know, is that he was delirious as a result of a urinary tract infection,” Judge Christopher Hehir explained to jurors.

⚠️ Impact: Burgess died three weeks after the incident, having contracted an illness in the hospital. Sussex Police referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), and the incident led to public outcry.

IN FULL:

Two police officers from Sussex, England, have been cleared of assault charges following an incident involving a 92-year-old man at a nursing home in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex. Police Constable (PC) Stephen Smith and PC Rachel Comotto were found not guilty at Southwark Crown Court of assault occasioning actual bodily harm after using force on Donald Burgess, a dementia patient and amputee.

The incident occurred in June 2022 after police responded to an emergency call reporting that Burgess, a one-legged man confined to a wheelchair, had brandished a butter knife and threatened nursing home staff. According to court testimony, Burgess was pepper-sprayed, struck with a baton, and tasered during the encounter, which the officers escalated within moments of their arrival. He was sent to the hospital and passed away three weeks later after contracting an illness there.

The court heard that Burgess’s actions were “out of character” and later attributed to delirium caused by a urinary tract infection. Deputy nursing home manager Donna Gardner described his movements with the butter knife as “extremely quick.” Judge Christopher Hehir told the jury, “The reason for his behaviour that day, we now know, is that he was delirious as a result of a urinary tract infection.”

Following the incident, Sussex Police referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which led to an investigation and subsequent charges against the officers.

Burgess’s family expressed their shock and horror over his death. A neighbor from his former home in Battle, East Sussex, described him as a “lovely, sociable man” who had faced significant health challenges, including diabetes and the amputation of his leg. After his wife’s passing, Burgess, who suffered from dementia, moved into the nursing home.

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