Judge pulls out knife in court
during teenage stabbing trial

Judge Roger Connor brandished his knife in front of a 16-year-old boy accused of wounding with intent and assault.

Judge Connor stunned a court when he pulled a blade out of his pocket while sitting on a knife crime case. The boy, who denies the charges, admits using a folding knife but claims he needed only one hand to open it.

Judge Connor pulled out his blade at Oxford Crown Court, saying: "I have a folding pocket knife in my pocket. You need two hands to open it don't you?"

However, furious anti-knife crime campaigners spoke out in horror and claimed the deputy circuit judge was setting the wrong example. Lyn Costello, the co-founder of the Mother's Against Murder and Aggression campaign group said that the judge should lose his job. "I'm absolutely sickened - I've never heard anything so disgraceful. He should lose his job" she said.

"Enough is enough - we need to get tough on knives in this country and our judges should be handing out tough sentences - not brandishing their own. There's no reason why he needs the knife there with him in the courtroom - long gone are the days when a blade was needed to remove a stone from a horse's hooves."

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Released on Monday 28th July 08