Mother risks jail for lying over Primark breast-feeding ban
A WOMAN has been warned she could be jailed after lying about being banned from breastfeeding in Primark, having previously tried to shame a leisure centre on the issue.
Caroline Starmer, 28, had claimed she was assaulted by a “sneering” worker in a Leicester branch of Primark.
Yesterday she pleaded guilty to intent to pervert the course of justice.
The mother of four claimed that as she was feeding her nine-month-old daughter behind a mannequin in the store, a member of security staff “ripped” her child from her breast and walked away, saying: “If you want your baby back, follow me.”
Yesterday it emerged that Starmer had made a similar allegation on Facebook against her local swimming pool. She wrote “disgusted that they tried to remove me from the premises for breast feeding my twins” in a onestar review of the Leicester Leys leisure centre.
Leicester council strongly denied that Starmer had ever made a formal complaint about the incident.
Leicestershire police also confirmed that the incident had not been reported to them.
She reported the Primark incident, which she said left her in “excruciating pain”, to police as an assault.
But Primark refuted her allegation, saying it had reviewed CCTV footage and could find no evidence of it.
It also emerged that none of the security guards employed at the store matched the description given by Starmer.
She was subsequently charged with intent to pervert the course of public justice to which she pleaded guilty at an appearance at Leicester Crown Court yesterday.
Starmer will be sentenced on December 3.
Judge Simon Hammond warned her she could be jailed. He added: “This is a serious matter and the court will be considering a custodial sentence.”