Girl arrested over Bollocks to Blair shirt

A girl was arrested for wearing her “Bollocks to Blair” T-shirt at the Midlands Game Fair last weekend. Charlotte Denis, 20, a gamekeeper from Gloucestershire, was stopped by police as she left the Countryside Alliance stand because of the “offensive” slogan.

Shocked and dismayed to be made a public spectacle, Denis tried to reason with the officers: “What do you want me to do? Take my top off and wear my bra?”

At this point, two officers marched Denis towards a police car. “They grabbed me as if I was a football hooligan,” she says.

Although the “Bollocks to Blair” slogan was in evidence all round the Game Fair, police maintained it was the first time they had seen it.

“They had to walk past a huge banner in order to get to me and there were lots of other people wearing the T-shirts,” explained Denis.

A tearful Denis was driven to a mobile police unit. “I asked the officers how they could arrest someone for wearing a T-shirt and they told me it was because it would offend a 70-80-year-old woman,” she said.

After agreeing to wear a friend’s coat, Denis was released without charge. But the incident ruined her day: “You don’t expect to be treated like that at a country fair,” she said.

Denis bought her T-shirt at Badminton Horse Trials last year, as well as a matching badge she wears on her coat.

“Bollocks to Blair” merchandise is manufactured by Splash and first appeared last year.

“The demand has been crazy,” said Splash director Toby Rhodes. “The slogan is an expression of anger in the countryside — which we are not trying to incite. We originally thought it a bit too direct for us but it has been popular with all ages. I’ve been told that some police officers wear the T-shirts under their uniforms.”

“It’s complete nonsense,” said the Countryside Alliance. “The police surely have better things to do with their time than protect the Prime Minister’s modesty.”

This news story was first published in Horse & Hound (22 September, ’05)

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