Nigel Farage ‘Milkshaking’ Case Discussed on BBC Five Live
Criminal Defence Solicitor Emily McNally joined Nicky Campbell on the BBC Five Live programme recently to discuss the sentencing of a woman who threw a milkshake over Nigel Farage MP last summer. Victoria Thomas Bowen, who was represented by Hodge Jones Allen Partner Caroline Liggins, was charged with criminal damage and common assault when she threw the drink at the politician outside a pub in Clacton-on-Sea during the campaign launch of the Reform party.
Bowen was given a 13-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months during her sentencing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, and was also ordered to do 120 hours of unpaid work, 15 days of rehabilitation and pay the Clacton MP £150 in compensation for the incident.
The case of ‘milkshaking’ – the act of dousing public figures with the drink, a term recognised as a word by the Collins Dictionary in 2019 – has often become a point of contention with regard to the perceived severity of sentencing. Some argue that the courts should consider sentencing to be more punitive in nature, to supposedly act as a deterrent, while others contend that all factors of a case should be taken into consideration when considering what form an appropriate sentence should take.
Speaking to Nicky Campbell about the different arguments around the sentencing for the offence as well as the individual case of Victoria Thomas Bowen, Emily commented that the suspended sentence Bowen received could not be considered as ‘light’ as while this particular prison sentence will not take immediate effect “it will be hanging over her head for the next 12 months; if she commits any further offences over the 12 month period or breaches any of the terms imposed by the judge, [then] she will be brought back before the court and the suspended sentence could be triggered, meaning she could face immediate prison time.”
As the conversation continued, Emily commented on the application of the sentencing guidelines, and whether a custodial sentence for ‘milkshaking’ would be overly harsh. She highlighted that “for the state to deprive someone of their liberty is a very serious step”, opining that when the courts determine whether or not the custody threshold is passed, they must ‘look at all circumstances of the case and of the offender” and that in this exercise, “deterrence is only one factor.”
The wide-ranging discussion also touched upon the wider criminal justice system, the argument that years of chronic underfunding have led to a system that is ‘creaking’ under the weight of a backlog that has led to considerable delays, with cases brought in 2024 being listed as late as 2028.
You can listen to Emily’s discussion with Nicky Campbell on BBC Five Live through BBC iPlayer here. The discussion starts at the 1:16:45 mark. You need to have a BBC license to access BBC iPlayer to hear the conversation.
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