Now top officer calls burglar’s death ‘a tragedy’

A SENIOR police officer sparked outrage yesterday by describing the death of a criminal killed in a botched burglary as ‘a tragedy’.

Sir Craig Mackey, deputy commissioner of Scotland Yard, said he would not stop shrines being erected for burglar Henry Vincent because ‘laying flowers is not a crime’.

Instead, he said anyone who pulled down tributes to Vincent, 37, could be arrested for a breach of the peace.

Sir Craig was accused of taking ‘ political correctness to a great extreme’ by showing ‘respect’ towards the serial burglar.

Floral tributes, cards, teddies and balloons were placed opposite the home of Richard OsbornBrooks, who fatally stabbed Vincent when he was confronted by the burglar last week.

The shrine in Hither Green, south- east London, has been repeatedly taken down by locals who believe it to be in poor taste and deliberately designed to antagonise them.

Last night only one bouquet remained in the street. But Sir Craig appeared to defend the right of Vincent’s family to return to the scene to place more flowers.

‘This is a tragedy for the family who have lost a loved one,’ he said. ‘It is also a tragedy for the homeowner forced to take the action he did. Those opposed to the flowers should act responsibly, respectfully and reasonably. We don’t want anyone – the local people or those visiting the scene – to feel intimidated. It’s entirely proportionate and appropriate that people want to leave tributes.’ Asked what action would be taken if further shrines were pulled down, he said: ‘ If you do things where you cause a breach of the peace, you cause disorder in that area, then like anyone, you could get arrested.’

Comedian John Bishop yesterday added his voice to the growing anger over the police’s response to the tawdry saga.

‘The police suggesting that the family of Henry Vincent should be allowed to place floral tributes opposite the house he tried to rob is a disgrace,’ he wrote on Twitter. ‘He was a scumbag who preyed on pensioners. Tributes condone his actions and imagine how it makes Mr Osborn-Brooks feel.

‘He was a career criminal who chose to threaten and prey on the vulnerable. There will be more unknown victims of his career. [His family] should feel shame and should not expect a memorial.’

It came a day after a YouGov poll found that 82 per cent of the public thought the tributes were inappropriate.

John Macy, who cares for the elderly in the area, said residents had ‘every right’ to remove the flowers if they were on private property. He was deeply critical of the police’s attempt to urge people to respect Vincent’s family.

Mr Macy, 74, said: ‘That is taking political correctness to a great extreme. It would be like saying you should respect the burglars because they have a job to do.

‘The putting up of the flowers in that quantity was totally offensive. It’s as much condoning the crime as mourning the loss of a criminal. Some of the messages left were very intimidating.’