GET TOUGH ON COWARDS ABUSING NHS HEROES
CALL FOR CRACKDOWN ON THUGS WHO ATTACK FRONTLINE STAFF FIGHTING VIRUS
SOFT jail sentences for sick thugs who attack Britain’s virus-fighting emergency heroes must be challenged by the Government’s law chief, a former top prosecutor said yesterday.
The public expects criminals guilty of “hateful crimes” like attacking nurses, doctors, paramedics and police to face the longest possible jail terms.
But yesterday, a yob who spat at three police officers after claiming he was infected with coronavirus was jailed for just twelve
weeks, a quarter of the maximum available sentence.
Peter Davy, 65, admitted the sickening assault on the frontline workers in Brighton on Saturday.
But, in a similar case, a district judge sent thug Paul Leivers to jail for the maximum 12 months after he admitted two counts of spitting at police in Nottinghamshire.
Now, former chief crown prosecutor Nazir Afzal has urged Attorney General Suella Braverman to refer unduly lenient sentences involving assaults on key workers to the Court of Appeal.
He said: “The Crown Prosecution Service issued guidance saying that they are going to pursue these cases with vigour and that people can look forward to 12 months in prison for the worst offences.
“The public will expect people who are committing these horrible, hateful crimes to have significant punishments. They will be concerned if people are not getting acceptable prison sentences.”
Former Scotland Yard detective chief inspector Mick Neville said last night: “Police, firefighters, paramedics, hospital staff all need protection from these cowards.
“The courts must use the full force of the law to protect the protectors.”
Unemployed Davy, of Brighton, was jailed for 12 weeks at Brighton magistrates court yesterday. He was also ordered to pay £50 compensation to each of his victims. Leivers, 48, of Mansfield, Notts, was jailed on Saturday after spitting at police custody officers following his arrest on Thursday.
Both men were charged with assaulting an emergency worker.
The maximum sentence is currently 12 months, but Home Secretary Priti Patel wants it to be increased to two years.
Mr Afzal said: “People expect jail terms and significant jail terms.
“If the sentence is lenient, the Attorney General has the power to get it reviewed. Going forward, if the sentences are unduly lenient, the Attorney General will have a role to play.”
Mr Afzal spoke as England’s Chief Nursing Officer urged the nation to show more respect for frontline NHS workers, “because you may be needing them very soon”.
Ruth May told how she was “deeply moved” by the nationwide “clap for carers” last week.
But the inspirational display has been overshadowed by an “idiotic few” who are putting lives at risk by assaulting and abusing staff. David Mott, 40, was jailed for 26 weeks on Wednesday after threatening to spit at police in Blackburn after officers questioned him over social distancing rules.
Steven Mackie was fined £500 for twice breaching coronavirus lockdown rules after allegedly telling police: “I can do what I want.”
Jobless Mackie, of Stalybridge, admitted failing to maintain public health. He was also ordered to pay £85 court costs and a £50 victim surcharge. NHS worker Sama Shali, 33, told how a yob on a bicycle twice spat in her face after spotting her hospital badge as she walked home in Manchester.
Nurse Reizel Angela revealed how a couple physically and racially abused her at a railway station while she was going to work.
Ms Angela wrote on Facebook: “There’s a lot of hate going around due to coronavirus but this virus is not an excuse to be racist or discriminate against anyone.”