Victory for Free Speech
By Paul Bracchi, Mailonline
One (highly paid) senior Crown prosecutor. Two policemen – including a detective chief inspector, no less – in court to testify against the accused. Behind them a team of six officers – yes, six – from the Merseyside force's specialist hate crime unit, assigned to investigate Ben and Sharon Vogelenzang.
Not to mention a QC for the defendants, and thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money. And for what?
Well, Deputy District Judge Richard Clancy must have been asking himself that question. And it didn't take him very long to reach an answer. In fact, after sitting through two days' evidence he didn't even retire to consider his verdict.
Ben and Sharon Vogelenzang leaving court after having the case of racially aggravated assault against Ericka Tazi thrown out and dismissed by the judge.
He dismissed the case against the Vogelenzangs, proprietors of The Bounty House Hotel in Aintree. Finally, it seems, common sense had prevailed.
The prosecution of the case in question, we had been assured all along, was in the public interest. The police even held a press briefing earlier this week before proceedings got under way to explain why. Words like ' bigotry' and 'intolerance' were used to justify this prosecution.
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