The global criminalisation of poverty stretches credibility. Making poverty history was a fashion statement not so man years ago but who would have thought that it would be being poor which became the crime not causing poverty by means of corporate greed.
And so, stories of well meaning people being arrested for feeding the poor become more and more common whilst people, who by virtue of their desperation, turn to desperate acts, are prosecuted for their hunger; one might argue that they are actually persecuted.
The BBC report today that:
Three accused of stealing food from Iceland store bins
Three men are to stand trial after allegedly taking cheese, tomatoes and cakes from bins behind an Iceland shop.
Paul May, William James and Jason Chan were arrested in Kentish Town, north London, in October. Iceland said its staff did not call the police.
At a court hearing in November, the men denied being found in or upon enclosed premises, contrary to section 4 of the Vagrancy Act 1824.
They will next appear at Highbury Magistrates' Court on 3 February.
'Waste and austerity'
The items allegedly taken from the store's bins amounted to a total value of £33 and included tomatoes, mushrooms, cheese and Mr Kipling cakes.
Mr May, 35, Mr James, 23, and Mr Chan, 31, all of no fixed address, are expected to say they had been "skipping" - a term used for taking food that would otherwise go to waste from a bin or skip.
Mike Schwarz from law firm Bindmans, who is representing the men, said: "The prosecutor's view that there is a significant public interest in expending public money to prosecute 'skippers' at times of shortage, waste and austerity, seems at best short-sighted, at worst perverse and certainly disproportionate.
"The defendants will say that they were not acting dishonestly."
In a statement, Iceland said: "The store in question is next door to a police station. Iceland staff did not call the police, who attended on their own initiative.
"Nor did we instigate the resulting prosecution, of which we had no knowledge until the media reports of it appeared yesterday evening.
"We are currently trying to find out from the Crown Prosecution Service why they believe that it is in the public interest to pursue a case against these three individuals, and will comment further when we are more fully informed."
What is hugely significant is that the de facto owners of the food, Iceland, are not the ones prosecuting, it is the police from an adjacent police station who are pressing charges. Iceland seem totally bemused by the situation and, according to their statement, do not understand why the law so keen to prosecute.
No doubt the sight of people so hungry that they would eat from a skip upsets the appetite of the officers as they tuck into their takeaways between arbitrarily stopping ethnic minority individuals to search them and beating up innocent people in their cells.
It probably doesn't help that I just watched the film adaptation of Irving Welsh's Filth but the police do not do themselves any favours when they act like complete aresholes but it seems to be their nature.
UPDATE:
All credit to Iclend for speaking up.
Iceland food bin theft case dropped
The case against three men accused of stealing food from bins outside an Iceland store has been dropped by prosecutors.
Paul May, William James and Jason Chan were arrested in Kentish Town, north London, in October.
The men denied charges brought under the 1824 Vagrancy Act.
The Crown Prosecution Service said Iceland had made representations that "affected our assessment of the public interest in prosecuting".
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