STATEMENT about my local resident Del Somerville who pled guilty to violent disorder at a local protest.
Firstly I want to say I condemn any violent behaviour towards anyone. It’s never acceptable and never the answer.
Del from Paulsgrove in Portsmouth, where I’m the elected Cllr for, has just received a 2 year prison sentence. To be clear he plead guilty. The report states he ‘pushed through a police corden’, and he ‘swore’ and he ‘threw a plastic bottle into the air towards a police line’.
Now if you break the law that should have consequences but this is where I have the problem…
In handing down the two-year sentence, the judge explicitly stated that the punishment was intended to act as a stark deterrent to others participating in subsequent regional protests.
I’m sorry but the law should be applied evenly and fairly. Del being made example of means his sentence is disproportionately worse in comparison to what others would have received in a comparable situation, outside of a protest. That is wrong.
We’ve seen violent assault convictions handed out with suspended prison sentences but then this one gets 2 years and is rushed through a process that took a few weeks.
We shouldn’t be ‘setting examples to deter others’. We should be applying the law fairly.
This is a reminder that if you are attending any protest to always remain calm a peaceful. One slightly poor emotional response can change your life forever.
This system isn’t fair and it needs to be. One rule for one, one rule for another. It’s wrong.