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A man was arrested after drinking 16 pints and urinating by the memorial of murdered PC Keith Palmer.
Andrew Banks, the 28-year-old ignorant lawbreaker, said he attended the demonstrations in the city center in a bid to ‘protect statues’, Mail Online reports. However, Banks of Stansted, Essex, admitted in court he wasn’t sure which memorials he was there to defend.
As The Sun reveals, the Met Police stated that a 28-year-old had been arrested and was in custody in Essex after handing himself in.
On Saturday, Banks was pictured urinating near the stone memorial to the police officer Keith Palmer who was killed by Khalid Masood during the 2017 Westminister terror attack.
After the 28-year-old admitted the offense, he was imprisoned for two weeks by magistrates.
According to prosecutor Michael Mallon, Banks was in central London to ‘protect statues’ amid the protests. However, he wasn’t quite sure which statues. The man reportedly has drunk 16 pints of beer starting Friday night and finished them Saturday morning. Besides, he had not been to sleep during that night at all.
Stuart Harris, Banks’ counsel, claimed his client had mental health issues, and he was ‘ashamed by his action’. Andrew was also slammed by his own father, the court heard. Banks’ dad, David Banks, called him a ‘stupid plonker’.
“He’s devastated. He can apologise for being a stupid plonker.”
The 14-days-charge came after the photograph of Banks urinating near the memorial of PC Keith Palmer was widely shared on social media. The disgusting incident happened as violent clashes between far-right protesters and police took place in central London.
https://twitter.com/MetPoliceEvents/status/1271892345043247104
Responding to the image, Metropolitan Police Commander Bas Javid said:
“We are aware of a disgusting and abhorrent image circulating on social media of a man appearing to urinate on a memorial to PC Palmer. I feel for PC Palmer’s family, friends and colleagues. We have immediately launched an investigation and will gather all the evidence available to us and take appropriate action.”
Recently, several politicians expressed their disgust over the incident.
Additionally, home secretary Priti Patel branded it as ‘absolutely appalling and shameful’.
On March 22, 2017, PC Keith Palmer was stabbed to death by terrorist Khalid Masood while guarding Carriage Gates. The heroic officer was awarded a posthumous George Medal for his bravery in confronting the killer.
Home Secretary Priti Patel condemned the ‘desecration’ of the memorial, saying:
“We have seen some shameful scenes today, including the desecration of PC Keith Palmer’s memorial in Parliament, in Westminster square, – a man that gave his life to protect people – and quite frankly that is shameful, that is absolutely appalling and shameful. And I think, you know, my final remark very much is that we live in a tolerant country but racism, any form of intolerance and violence is simply not acceptable.”
Furthermore, MP Tobias Ellwood was also amongst the ones shaming Banks for his disgraceful action. He shared in a Twitter post:
“Absolute shame on this man.”
Absolute shame on this man.
Of all the images to emerge over these few testing days I find this one of most abhorrent.
Please help identify him. pic.twitter.com/8ydcNmTWrN
— Tobias Ellwood MP (@Tobias_Ellwood) June 13, 2020
Mr. Ellwood told BBC News:
“This is the gates of Westminster, the most iconic symbol of democracy in the world next to a monument for PC Keith Palmer. He was fully aware of what he was doing, he should step forward and apologise.”
On Saturday morning, hundreds of far-right and pro-statue demonstrators gathered in London in relation to Black Lives Matter protests.
Along with the BLM supporters, there were also protesters claiming they wanted to protect valuable statues such as Winston Churchill from vandalism. However, the demonstration near the Houses of Parliament and Trafalgar Square turned violent.
Rioters repeatedly hounded police officers with foul-mouthed chants and missiles, smoke grenades and flares. Moreover, shards of glass were strewn along the streets close to the Cenotaph on Whitehall after bottles were thrown at police officers clad in riot gear.
On the contrary, at the time, there was a peaceful demonstration at Hyde Park and Marble Arch by anti-racism protesters supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.
