BLUE LAMP FOLLIES

Justice at last for the man accused of trying to "out" a bobby's best friend:

A student who called a mounted policeman's horse "gay" will not be prosecuted, it has been revealed.

But police have stood by their decision to take Sam Brown to court for making "homophobic comments" despite the Crown Prosecution Service dropping the case. Mr Brown, 21, a student at Oxford University, had said to an officer: "Excuse me, do you realise your horse is gay?"   Police took the case to court after Mr Brown refused to pay a £80 fine.

Mr Brown, who made the comment during a night out with friends in Oxford after his final exams, was arrested under section 5 of the Public Order Act for making homophobic remarks. His remarks were deemed likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress. The English Literature graduate, from Belfast, spent the night of 30 May last year in a police cell.

PS: On the other hand, if you attack a stranger and leave him in a coma, you can  hope to get off with just an 18-month sentence.