It was a disgusting crime: two 16-year olds wrote racist and obscene graffiti on prayer books in Blackburn cathedral and bent out of shape a "priceless" cross. Fortunately for the police, the morons also chose to write their names in the Cathedral visitors' book and were thus caught and convicted.
When passing judgement on any crime, the Magistrates have a difficult job to do in working out how to phrase their judgement in such a way that it is suitably explained for the public record and communicates strongly and adequately to the perpetrator the seriousness of their offence.
However, in this case the Chairman of the Magistrates - Austin Molloy - came up with the perfect summation: "Normal people would consider you absolute scum."
In that judgement he was absolutely right - scum he called them, and scum they are. These vandals could practically function as the very definition of the word "scum".
Despite his accuracy and strong justification, though, Mr Molloy has now been suspended from the Bench and is facing disciplinary action for using the word.
It is perhaps unsurprising that the mother of one of these scum has registered a complaint, but it is remarkable that it was Mr Molloy's own Court Clerk who urged her to do so. It is staggering that the authorities didn't throw the complaint straight into the bin and have instead chosen to suspend Mr Molloy for the grievous offence of doing his job and standing up on behalf of decent people against vandals.
Free speech has long been an important pillar of our historic rights - surely if anyone should be free to speak it is a judge or magistrate in their own courtroom?
