Stephen Daisley Stephen Daisley

Sending a mean tweet about Captain Tom shouldn’t be a crime

Captain Tom Moore (Getty images)

Captain Tom Moore captured the nation’s hearts during the pandemic. The World War II officer completed 100 lengths of his garden at the age of 99 to raise money for NHS-related charities, attracting more than £30 million in donations and being knighted by the Queen. When he died last February, aged 100, the fond tributes and outpouring of sadness were universal. Well, almost. 

Glaswegian Joseph Kelly marked Captain Tom’s passing by tweeting a photograph of the veteran and the words:

‘The only good brit soldier is a deed one, burn auld fella, buuuuurn’.

Criminal patter should not land you a criminal record

Undoubtedly these words were offensive: to British soldiers, the memory of Captain Tom, and the English language. Kelly, who tweeted under the name ‘Saor Alba’ (Gaelic for ‘Free Scotland’), was being an idiot and deserved to be told so. That should have been the end of the matter. If only. 

Kelly, aged 36, has been convicted

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