Anti-swearing magistrate quits post

A magistrate who offended legal sensibilities when she banned swearing in court has resigned after failing to win the backing of colleagues.

Adele Beckett, a vicar's wife, banned the use of expletives in November after complaining about expletives being read out in statements.

I just didn't want to hear that type of language - prosecutors should only use the first letter

Adele Beckett, former magistrate

But her stance angered some prosecutors, who claimed they had to use profanity to present the facts as they happened.

Now Mrs Beckett has quit her post claiming colleagues on the Flintshire bench refused to back her stand.

After the ban, Chief Clerk George Tranter said there would be no change in the way teams were asked to present their cases.

Mrs Beckett said she had no choice but to leave and wrote a letter of resignation to Mr Tranter and bench chairman Carlton Jones.

But she is maintaining her stand against the use of expletives in legal proceedings.

First letter

"I was prepared to listen to straight evidence in which swear words were used," she said.

"I am not stupid. I have been a magistrates for 15 years.

Legal teams can swear in court while presenting facts of cases

"But when prosecutors read a statement of facts in guilty pleas they only need to use the first letter.

"If they say 'f,' then we all know what they mean."

Mrs Beckett said she was told at an equal opportunities training seminar that she should not have to be subjected to swear words.

Mr Carlton Jones, who retired as chair of the bench on Monday, said he and his colleagues had every sympathy for the outgoing magistrate.

He said they realised the language used in court had deteriorated.

But, he said, the team of magistrates could not edit the way in which the Crown Prosecution Service presented the facts of cases.

Gratuitous use of offensive language would be inappropriate, but he believed parts of the case had to be told.

'Bad guy'

Mrs Beckett remained adamant: "I think I could have got around the CPS and prosecutors would not have to read out the full swear words.

"Senior magistrates didn't back me. I was told that I had upset my colleagues and that I had brought the bench into disrepute. "But I had quite an official telling off about it.

"Things have been turned around on me and I have had enough of it now. There was no big argument.

"I just didn't want to hear that type of language, but it has been made out that I was the bad guy."