Curiously, a perusal of the photo gallery on Carnage UK’s website does not reveal the image of Philip Laing urinating on a war memorial. This can only be a glaring omission, for if ever a night out degenerated into carnage – the heavenly state to which Laing sought admittance when he signed up with the organisers of “quite simply the best student event ever” – it is surely that of October 11 2009 in Sheffield, when 2,000 students toured the city centre’s bars under the guidance of Carnage UK.
As the nation now knows, an intoxicated Laing has since been found guilty of outraging public decency for his reprehensible actions. But as the Telegraph reports here, District Judge Anthony Browne holds no candle for Carnage UK. As he put it: “Carnage was the name of the organisation that promote this type of activity and some might say someone should be standing alongside you this morning.”
We agree. While Laing was, for one night of his life at least, a drunken lout, there was no premeditation about his actions. For all anyone knows his intoxicated brain may have convinced him that he was in a public urinal. He had absolutely no idea what he was doing, and can’t even remember doing it.
In contrast, Carnage UK knows exactly what it is doing. It consciously goes about organising mass pub crawls which result in carnage, the purpose being to enrich its owners. Ludicrous amounts of drink will be consumed by participants, as Carnage UK must know, for otherwise how else is carnage to be delivered? And yet another glance at its website shows that it is committed to a ‘Think Safe: Drink safe’ policy. Yes, that’s right, Carnage UK advises its clients to drink in moderation. “Do not binge,” exhorts the website, an imprecation about as meaningful, given its context, as advising a Formula 1 driver to slow down on corners.
The real outrage to public decency is not the poor, idiotic Laing. It is that our society tolerates the existence of a company like Carnage UK.
