War veteran slams police for failing to charge protester after woman was filmed trying to burn Union Jack flag on the Cenotaph during BLM demo
- Iraq war veteran Trevor Coult slams Metropolitan Police over ‘double standards’
- He believes protester seen appearing to try to set light to a flag should be jailed
- War veteran said Met Police charged man for urinating next to memorial in days
- Coult, 45, won Military Cross for shooting three suicide bombers in Iraq in 2005
A war veteran has slammed police for failing to charge protester who tried to burn a Union Jack flag on the Cenotaph during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in London.
Trevor Coult, who won the Military Cross for shooting three suicide bombers in an ambush on his patrol in Iraq in 2005, described the lack of a charge over the incident as a ‘disgusting insult to veterans of all creed and colour’.
He spoke after it emerged that the unnamed 20-year-old suspect, who was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, had been rebailed following the alleged incident on June 7.
The suspect was bailed until July and was then rebailed last month, but the Metropolitan Police did not say until when.
This perceived lack of action has been blasted by Mr Coult, 45, who said that it is ‘reeks of double standards’ after a man who urinated next to a murdered police officer’s mural was jailed within days.
Trevor Coult, who won the Military Cross for shooting three suicide bombers in an ambush on his patrol in Iraq in 2005, described the lack of a charge over the incident as a ‘disgusting insult to veterans of all creed and colour’. Pictured: A protester appears to be attempting to burn the Union Jack during a Black Lives Matter Protest in London in June
He spoke after it emerged that the unnamed 20-year-old suspect, who was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, had been rebailed following the alleged incident on June 7
Andrew Banks, 28, of Stansted, Essex, was jailed for 14 days for urinating next to Pc Keith Palmer’s memorial during a counter-BLM protest.
This was despite him having no previous convictions and the judge who sentenced him agreeing that he ‘didn’t know’ where he was urinating.
Mr Coult, an ex-Royal Irish Regiment soldier of Woodbridge in Suffolk, said the ‘gaping difference’ in how both cases have been dealt with was appalling.
He said: ‘The flag burner knew what they were doing but nothing has happened. That street is one of the most watched streets in the world.
‘There are cameras everywhere. They were photographed and filmed by dozens of people on the day. How there can’t be any charges is beyond me.
‘It sends out a message first of all that they’re not taking it seriously. That anyone can come out and do what they want to our national monuments.
‘It sends out a message that we don’t care. We need to bring in laws stronger that specifically protect those monuments.
Mr Coult (pictured left), an ex-Royal Irish Regiment soldier of Woodbridge in Suffolk, pointed to the contrast in the way a protester who urinated on a memorial to a murdered police officer was handled. Mr Coult (pictured right in Iraq) said the ‘gaping difference’ in how both cases have been dealt with was appalling
Andrew Banks, 28, of Stansted, Essex, was jailed for 14 days for urinating next to Pc Keith Palmer’s memorial during a counter-BLM protest
‘And there are already laws in place. Whoever did this should go to jail.
‘The fact that they haven’t been dealt with yet leaves a sour taste in my mouth and the mouths of every other veteran in the country.
‘The Cenotaph doesn’t just represent white people. Lots of black people died fighting for this country and that monument represents their sacrifice.
‘This is taking the mickey out of them which is disgusting and will only divide people.
‘The fact this hasn’t been dealt with when that other guy (Banks) was jailed for two weeks is going to upset people – especially veterans of all creeds and colours.’
A Met Police spokesman said there were ‘no charges at this point – I believe that they remain on bail.’
They said they didn’t yet know when they had been rebailed until.
Their previous statement said: ‘A 20-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage in connection with an incident at the Cenotaph on Sunday, 7 June.
‘She has since been bailed to a later date in July.’