Climb rebel is released
An Extinction Rebellion activist who scaled Big Ben and evaded capture for more than three hours has been released by police.
Tree surgeon Ben Atkinson, 43, dressed up as Boris Johnson and cl imbed scaffolding surrounding the London landmark on Friday.
Atkinson, from Rydal in Cumbria, was arrested over trespass on a protected site, which carries a maximum sentence of 51 weeks in jail.
Ryan Cullen, who admitted two serious child porn offences between June 2015 and November 2018, was tasked with keeping kids safe in his role with Dunbartonshire Youth Football Development League.
But the 25-year- old had ama s s ed a n illegal cache of ima g e s and videos during his f ive- and- a- half year stint with the league.
Cul len was checked under the Protecting Vulnerable Groups ( PVG) scheme in July 2013 before taking up his role and no issues were flagged up.
But in November last year, his family home in Clydebank was raided. Specialist officers examined a hard drive, tower unit and laptop seized from his bedroom.
The devices included a variety of moving and still images at category A (the most serious), B and C, and videos up to 57 minutes long. Scott ish Youth Footbal l Association (SYFA) bosses have vowe d to c a r r y out a n investigation. A spokesperson said: “In light of Cul len’s conviction, we will be carrying out further inquiries and will take any appropriate action.” Chi ld abuse survivor and campaigner Dave Sharp said: “Cullen has played a key role at a youth football team. There needs to be a full investigation to make sure no other teams have been subjected to Cul len or others like him. To do that, you have to be transparent with what you’re doing to monitor people, trainers, physios, protection off icers, whatever, across all levels.
“Viewing such pictures is a progression to physical abuse. And this guy’s been involved with our children, our future.”
The league changed its name in May 2018 to Dunbartonshire Youth Football League but Cullen was listed as a protection officer on the old Dunbartonshire Youth Football Development league website until last week.
Official Martin Fitzsimmons said: “News of Cullen is beyond shocking – it’s not something anyone at the league would have been aware of. It’s disgusting.” The SYFA said: “As soon as we were notified of concerns about Cullen via the PVG scheme on January 15, we immediately suspended him.
“Having spoken to the current and former league secretaries, they have conf irmed that no concerns were raised with them about Cul len’s behaviour or actions relating to his former position at the league.
“While we are aware none of these charges relate to Cullen’s involvement with the SYFA’s member league, we utterly condemn his despicable actions and wish to underline chi ld wellbeing and protection will continue to be our priority.”