Twitter Bomb Joker Guilty Of ‘Menacing’ Tweet

Paul Chambers – the man who posted an irreverent update on Twitter, threatening to blow up the Robin Hood Airport near Doncaster after it was closed by snow – has been found guilty of sending a menacing electronic communication.

When Chambers discovered that heavy snow had closed the airport back in January, preventing him from flying to Belfast, he vented his frustration on the micro-blogging site: “Robin Hood airport is closed. You’ve got a week and a bit to get your shit together, otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high!!”

The angry Tweet from his iPhone was sent out to his 600 followers, but  also showed up on the network’s Public Time Line – viewable by all Twitter users. Airport staff were alerted to the message by off-duty manager Shaun Duffield, when he spotted the Tweet a few days after it had been posted.

Arrested and suspended

Chambers was arrested under the Terrorism Act, and then questioned at a police station for seven hours. After being released on bail, his iPhone, laptop and home computer were confiscated, and he was suspended from work. In an interview with BBC Northern Ireland in January, Chambers revealed that he was studying for charted accountancy, and that the police reaction could could jeopardise his career.

“I was disappointed and frustrated that the airport had been closed,” Chambers told the court. “It did not cross my mind that Robin Hood would ever look at Twitter or take it seriously because it was innocuous hyperbole.”

However, a district judge at Doncaster Magistrates Court has ruled that the Tweet was “of a menacing nature in the context of the times in which we live”. Chambers has been ordered to pay a £385 fine, a £15 victims surcharge and £600 costs.

A justified response?

When asked by the court if he understood that the airport’s response he replied: “I do now. I apologise for whatever consequences have happened but at the time that was not my intention at all.”

Following the verdict, Chambers said that he did not want to comment but confirmed he was considering an appeal. He later posted a tweet saying: “I’d like to thank the CPS for their level-best efforts in f*****g up the life of an ordinary citizen. I love Britain.”

In a statement, the Crown Prosecution Service said: “While Mr Chambers may have meant this as a joke, the airport could not risk treating it as such … There is nothing funny about remarks of this nature as they can cause serious disruption to transport services and divert police attention away from genuine crimes.”

Twitter users are expressing their own views on the verdict now, using the hachtag #twitterjoketrial. TV star Stephen Fry has already offered to pay the fine for Chambers via a tweet written after the verdict came through.