Moronic British police and prosecutors harass innocent man

Name mistake lands wrong man in court twice

John Taylor, 59, was arrested and driven 110 miles in a prison van after a warrant was granted for the arrest of John Alexander Taylor, who is accused of fraud. He appeared in court to be charged and was given a second date to return to court despite his protests that the court had the wrong man. Mr Taylor was then released on bail and left to make his own way home from Edinburgh to Bedlington in Northumberland. Prosecutors only realised their mistake when he and a relative made a second trip to Scotland

Mr Taylor said: “I couldn't believe it, I didn't know a thing about this and I was dragged down to the police station and taken to court. “I tried to tell them they had the wrong man, that this was not my name, but nobody listened to me.”

The first time Mr Taylor heard about the alleged fraud was when police appeared at his doorstep last September and told him there was a warrant for his arrest. He was taken to a police station and held for several hours before being transported to Edinburgh to appear the following day. He was then bailed and told to return to the court on July 11th this year.

The mistake was only picked up when his defence lawyer asked for “closed door discussions” on the case. Mr Taylor said he had suffered “months of hell, stress and worry” because of the legal bungle. He receives disability allowance and said the journeys to and from Edinburgh had a serious impact on his fragile health. He has been told he is no longer accused of the alleged crime, but claims he has not received any official apology and is considering legal action over his treatment.

A spokesman for the Crown Office said: “A petition warrant bearing the correct name and date of birth of the person sought in connection with these offences was issued by the procurator fiscal at Edinburgh. “Mr Taylor was arrested on that warrant in what was a case of mistaken identity. It is unfortunate that this error occurred and it must have been a very difficult ordeal for Mr Taylor. “The arrest of persons upon apprehension warrants is not a matter for the Crown but as soon as the procurator fiscal was made aware of the mistaken identity of the person apprehended by the police in this case immediate steps were taken to rectify the situation.”

Original report here



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