Murdoch pie-thrower wins jail term cut
The comedian who threw a foam pie at Rupert Murdoch has had his jail sentence reduced on appeal. Jonathan May-Bowles, 26, will now serve four weeks behind bars instead of six.
May-Bowles pleaded guilty last week to assaulting 80-year-old media tycoon Rupert Murdoch as he gave evidence to the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee about the phone-hacking scandal.
Also known by his stage name “Jonnie Marbles”, the 26-year-old disrupted proceedings by throwing a paper plate of shaving foam at Mr Murdoch.
Mr Murdoch’s wife Wendi Deng intervened and managed to thrust the foam pie back away from her husband.
May-Bowles failed in an attempt to overturn his six-week prison sentence but it was reduced to four weeks at London’s Southwark Crown Court.
Judge Anthony Pitts, sitting with two magistrates, rejected arguments that the foam pie attack was in the tradition of comics from Laurel and Hardy to Monty Python.
“That might be funny or have an element of comedy about it in a different situation,” he said.
“But not in this situation. It was intended, it seems to us, to cause fear and it must have caused fear.
“In our judgment, there is an overwhelming inference it caused fear and shock amongst Mr Murdoch, his wife and his son, let alone others in the room who were crying out in shock and disbelief.”
Judge Pitts also suggested that May-Bowles, a part-time stand-up comic, carried out the attack to gain notoriety.
“It is impossible to imagine that he did this without knowing that it would attract huge, probably worldwide, publicity, his assault on Mr Murdoch,” he said.
May-Bowles, who was wearing a baggy red T-shirt and grey tracksuit trousers, gave a thumbs-up to friends in the public gallery as he was led away to resume his sentence.