The comedian who thought it was funny to attack media mogul Rupert Murdch with a foam pie didn't have much to laugh about yesterday as he was sentenced to six weeks jail for the incident.
Jonathan May-Bowles, 26, foam-pied the 80-year-old chief executive of News Corporation as he gave evidence to MPs about the hacking scandaly, calling him a ‘naughty billionaire’.
The wannabe stand-up comic said that in his defence he was following a century-old tradition of harmless slapstick protest against powerful figures.
May-Bowles smuggled the foam pie into the
building hidden in an old shirt, which he discarded in bins in the men's
toilets.
According to one witness,
May-Bowles 'appeared to be paying very little attention to the
questions and answers – at times his eyes were closed and he appeared
to be dozing.'
But, as the hearing was about to end at about 5pm, the comedian 'got up
very suddenly' reached into a black carrier bag, pulled out a paper
plate and thrust it into Murdoch's face.
District judge Daphne Wickham said May-Bowles had interruped the ‘dignity’ of Parliamentary proceedings that were of ‘huge importance’.
She said also she took into account the fear of injury felt by Mr Murdoch, who could not have known what was in the foam pie.
The court was told that Murdoch did not support the charge of assault.
