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British court acquits guard, soldier despite assault

Sunday, 26 April 2015 4:20 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 26 April 2015 4:24 PM ]

Jason Collins (R) and Shaun Smith (undated photo)

A British court has acquitted a Buckingham Palace guard and a soldier involved in a violent assault against two men.

The guard and his fellow soldier have walked free from court despite being captured on CCTV repeatedly stamping on the head of a victim in the street.

Shaun Smith, 25, and Jason Collins, 22, attacked two men near their barracks at Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire in April last year.

The pair left one of their victims lying unconscious in the road before chasing the other man and pouncing on him as he tripped and fell while trying to flee.

Shocking CCTV footage shows Smith stamp on the man 18 times, while Guardsman, Collins rained down punches on him.

Now London-based social analyst Adam Hurst says: “Buckingham Palace places a great deal of emphasis on making sure that it is represented in the media and on the world stage, as having a clean record and ensuring that no one within its framework, whether that is the Royal family itself or the people who serve the Royal family, and of course one of these brutal men was a guard at the Buckingham Palace.”

“The other guard, the Scots Guard, because of the association with the Welsh Guard in the attack, they both managed to be essentially acquitted of the crime... The reason is because of the pressure from Buckingham Palace, whether it is directly through instruction which I think was the case in this case to the judge or to his supervisor, or a lot of time it does happen indirectly.”

Welsh Guard, Jason Collins, 22, who has stood guard at Buckingham Palace and St James's Palace, was given a 12 month community order, while fellow soldier Shaun Smith, who was responsible for the stamping was given a 12 month suspended sentence.

The soldiers were expected to be jailed for the attack. But as court officials said, the judge decided to show mercy after the army said it was keen to keep them. The soldiers claimed they were provoked by the victims. The attack took place in Catterick, North Yorkshire in April 20-14.

HRK/GHN

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