Four-letter folly in the High Court

A judge has ruled in the High Court that it was not an offence for a 20-year-old drug suspect to use the f-word repeatedly as police searched him, writes Peter Rhodes.

Magistrates fined the yob £50 but the judge overturned the public-order conviction on the grounds that the "rather commonplace" word was unlikely to cause alarm or distress to anyone nearby.

Two points. Firstly the judge sounds like a complete rather-commonplace word.

Secondly, if it's okay for Chummy to use the f-word to police, is it okay for police to use the f-word to Chummy?

If not, why not?