Osborne moped robber nailed by his bitten fingers
THE leader of a moped robbery gang who targeted George Osborne was caught because of his chewed fingernails, it was revealed yesterday.
Teenage thug Claude Parkinson always wore a crash helmet with the visor down when he and two accomplices carried out muggings.
The trio, armed with hammers, snatched 103 phones from victims in an 18-day crime spree.
But they came unstuck when they tried to rob ex-chancellor Mr Osborne outside BBC headquarters in Portland Place, central London, in May.
A BBC man with a long-lens camera was waiting for a taxi and took pictures of 18-year-old Parkinson.
The images were so detailed detectives were able to recognise his bitten nails and his eyes through the visor – and he was arrested along with the other robbers aged 15 and 17. Police also detained the gang’s fence Samsul Chowdhury, south London’s Southwark Crown Court heard.
Chowdhury, 40, kept records which showed he handled 327 stolen items totalling £52,150 between April 5 and May 17.
Paul Fairley, prosecuting, told the court that mobile phones had a “significant sell-on price” for thieves and there was a ready market abroad.
He said: “The UK, and London in particular, has seen a huge increase in moped-enabled crime – robberies for, in the main, mobile phones.
“The premise is simple. Obtain a stolen moped, or steal it for yourself.
“Dress up in motorcycle clothing which is a very effective disguise. Arm yourself if necessary and then drive about looking for phones to steal. They are there for the taking.”
In an impact statement Mr Osborne said: “I was physically unharmed but shocked and stunned. The scooter was so close it almost brushed me.” Parkinson, of Islington, north London, was jailed for five years. His accomplices, who cannot be named, were each given four years and two months.
Judge David Tomlinson told the three, who had all admitted conspiracy to rob, that their offending had “spiralled out of control”.
Chowdhury, of Bethnal Green, east London, who admitted handling stolen goods, was jailed for four years and 10 months.