WARNING: INCLUDES STRONG (AKA FOUL) LANGUAGE
The man who decided to have a piss next to the memorial dedicated to PC Keith Palmer, who was murdered by islamic fascists during the Westminster terror attacks in 2017, has been sent down for two weeks. Andrew Banks pleaded guilt in court but said in mitigation that he’d had 16 pints of beer overnight as well as suffering from mental health issues. And anyway, he had no idea about any of the statues he’d supposedly come down from Stansted to defend. He’d just come down to defend them after 16 pints. Of course he did.
The disappointing thing for me is that he has no job to lose after committing such a vile act. We have all been taken short at times – I was once ‘forced’ to urinate on the penalty spot in front of the East End at Ashton Gate, late at night, during a social function and not on a matchday, it must be said – but in most cases we knew what we were doing and where we were doing it. However, Mr Banks doesn’t have a job at all, which suggests that the benefits he is claiming must be generous indeed if he can drink 16 pints in a single session.
If he is suffering from mental health issues, then I am sorry to hear that. My loyal reader will know that I have been whingeing on about my own 50 years history of mental illness for, oh, about 50 years. But no matter how depressed and anxious I have been, I never felt the urge to urinate in a very public place next to the statue of a national hero.
For all I know, there may be things about Mr Banks we don’t know. It could be that he’s had serious problems in his life which we may need to take into account when he’s released from prison, probably by the weekend. But even if he has, it’s hard not to refer to him as anything other than – and I apologise for the bad language to come – a total cunt.
When he regains his liberty, I hope he gains a conscience and apologises personally to the family of PC Palmer. I’ve never really been one to ‘forgive and forget’ – people can change, but not always by much – but he could do both himself and his family if he grew a pair and did the right thing.
I do not particularly care that, according to his counsel, Banks was “ashamed by his action”. So he should be. PC Palmer was the best of us. Banks is currently the worst.
