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Terror tweeter awaits appeal verdict

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27th Sep 2010
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Former trainee accountant will find out in the next month or two whether his conviction and £1,000 for posting a Tweet threatening to blow Doncaster airport “sky high” will be upheld.

On Friday, judges at Doncaster crown court heard arguments from lawyers acting for Chambers that his January Twitter message was “hyberbolic banter” and that his conviction for causing a “menace” under the Communications Act 2003 should be overturned because the prosecution had not proved Chambers had intended to cause menace.

Following the conviction, Chambers lost his job as a finance supervisor.

The case has become the focus for free speech campaigners and this formed part of the defence case against the Draconian nature of the conviction.

“This [message] is obviously facetious," defence barrister Stephen Ferguson told Judge Jacqueline Davies, The Guardian reported.

The case was of broader importance, the defence QC argued, because it could extend the concept of menace to include playground boasts, tweets and even Sir John Betjeman’s quip, “Come friendly bombs drop on Slough.”

The defence introduced new evidence that police had concluded shortly after the Tweet was posted that it was nothing more than “a foolish comment” for only his close friends to see". But the prosecution argued the conviction should stand and presented evidence of direct messages Chambers had sent direct messages to his girlfriend @Crazycolours on mentioning terrorism.

The judges adjourned the hearing to consider the defence motion and are expected to deliver their decision in October or November.

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