A licence to steal?
Let off, the ‘freegans’ who raided supermarket bins for £33 of cakes, cheese and mushrooms
LEGAL action against three men who took tomatoes, mushrooms, cakes and cheese from a supermarket’s dustbins has been dropped by prosecutors. The men were arrested in October after climbing over a wall at an Iceland store in London’s Kentish Town to look for waste food.
They are among a growing group of ‘ skippers’ or ‘ freegans’ who patrol the bins behind stores and cafes looking for thrown-away food that is good enough to eat.
Police caught them as they left the area with a holdall and trolley containing about £33 worth of tomatoes, mushrooms, cheese and Mr Kipling cakes.
Officers returned the items to the Iceland store. The men claim they were held in a police cell for 19 hours before being released.
After being arrested for burglary, the three men were charged under the 1824 Vagrancy Act, which was introduced to deal with beggars, including penniless soldiers discharged following the Napoleonic wars.
Initially, the Metropolitan Police and CPS decided to pursue the prosecution of the three men, Paul May, aged 35, Jason Chan and Wil- liam James, who live in a squat in north London.
The CPS told the men’s solicitors: ‘We feel there is significant public interest in prosecuting these three individuals.’
However, last night the decision was over-ruled by a senior CPS lawyer following a review of the case and the intervention of Iceland’s boss, Malcolm Walker.
Mr Walker used Twitter to say he knew nothing about the arrests or prosecution, which involved a store next to a police station.
He asked executives to challenge the CPS over why it was necessary to take the three men to court.
The CPS’s decision came on the same day the British Retail Consortium was hosting an event at the Houses of Parliament to announce a new initiative by supermarkets to cut food waste.
Freeganism is the practice of reclaiming food that has been thrown out by supermarkets, coffee shops and restaurants. The act of getting the food is known as ‘skipping’ or ‘bin diving’ in the UK and ‘dumpster diving’ in the USA.
Speaking before the U-turn by the CPS, BRC’s director general, Helen Dickinson, said people taking food in these circumstances should be prosecuted.
‘I think there are laws and regulations out there and it is important that everyone in the country is aware of what they are and complies with them,’ she said.
But yesterday the chief crown prosecutor for London, Baljit Ubhey, said: ‘In reconsidering this case, we have had particular regard to the seriousness of the alleged offence and the level of harm done. Both of these factors weigh against a prosecution. Additionally, further representations received today from Iceland Foods have affected our assessment of the public interest in prosecuting.’
An Iceland spokesman said: ‘We sympathise with those who are struggling to meet their food bills and do our utmost to help.’
Figures from the Government’s waste reduction advisory body, Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap), show that 15million tonnes of food are discarded every year in the UK.
Tesco revealed it generated 28,500 tonnes of food waste at its stores and distribution centres in the first six months of last year alone.
Now other leading retailers, including Asda, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose, have announced they will also publish regular updates on the amount of food they throw out.