Middle-aged man attacks boy over Call of Duty video game

A MIDDLE-aged man carried out a real-life revenge attack on the teenager who killed his character in an online video game.
Mark Bradford, 46, saw red when the boy gloated after gunning him down while playing Call of Duty: Black Ops.
A court heard how Bradford stormed out of his bedsit and assaulted the 13-year-old who was playing the war game at a friend’s home nearby.

The pal’s mum had to come to the terrified boy’s rescue after Bradford marched into the front room and grabbed the boy’s throat with both hands.
The lad, who cannot be identified, said last night: “I was just sat playing. We’d had a bit of a joke and then he stormed in and grabbed me. I didn’t know what was going on.”
Jobless Bradford and the teenager had been playing the violent game on PlayStations and were talking to each other on microphones over the internet.
Plymouth magistrates heard that the dad-of-three walked away without saying a word after the attack in July. The victim was left with a scratch. His mum, 33, said last night: “It’s pathetic that a grown man would attack a defenceless child like this.
“If you can’t handle losing to a child then you shouldn’t be playing games.
“I know Mark and went straight round when I found out what had happened. I was fuming. But rather than have it out with him I got the police involved.”
Bradford, of St Budeaux, Plymouth, admitted assault and was freed on bail to be sentenced on October 24.
He said yesterday: “I’d been playing the whole day and he was baiting me and just would not shut up.
“I just lost it. In a moment of madness I went round to the house. I didn’t know what I was going to do.
“It wasn’t malice. I just grabbed him. I’ve seen him since and apologised. The injuries weren’t that bad but I do regret it.”

'I'd like to axe Human Rights Act,' declares Home Secretary as she risks explosive rift with Lib Dem colleagues

By David RichardsLast updated at 1:07 PM on 2nd October 2011

Theresa May risked angering Liberal Democrat Cabinet colleagues today by throwing her weight behind calls for the Human Rights Act to be scrapped.

In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, the Home Secretary said she would 'personally' like to see it go because of the problems it has presented the Home Office.

Her comments, on the eve of the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, will endear her to many Tories infuriated by its use by foreign criminals to avoid deportation.

But senior Lib Dems, including Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Energy Secretary Chris Huhne, have pledged that the Act will stay.

Ms May said: 'I'd personally like to see the Human Rights Act go because I think we have had some problems with it.'

She added: 'I see it, here in the Home Office, particularly, the sort of problems we have in being unable to deport people who perhaps are terrorist suspects. Obviously we've seen it with some foreign criminals who are in the UK.'


Mr Clegg promised Lib Dem delegates at his party's conference last month that the Human Rights Act, which enshrines the European Convention on Human Rights in UK law, was 'here to stay'.

Mr Huhne suggested the issue, if forced, could topple the coalition.

'If Conservative backbenchers persist in wanting to tear up the European Convention on Human Rights, then I can foresee a time when this party would be extremely uncomfortable in coalition,' he said.

Shami Chakrabarti, director of human rights organisation Liberty, said: 'Modern Conservatives should think again about human rights values that were truly Churchill's legacy.

'Only a pretty "nasty party" would promote human rights in the Middle East whilst scrapping them at home.'

David Cameron said he and the Home Secretary shared a concern that the Commission would work 'more slowly' than the Tories wanted.

But he said action was already being taken to help end the 'chilling culture' which the Act had fostered among people fearful they would fall foul of it.

Speaking on BBC1's Andrew Marr Show, Mr Cameron cited the recent example of a prison van driven nearly 100 miles to transfer a defendant the short walk to a court.

'I agree that it would be good to replace the Human Rights Act with a Bill of Rights. I think that is the right thing to do.'

There was a concern however that it would 'go more slowly than Theresa and I would want'.

Shadow justice secretary Sadiq Khan accused Mrs May of 'pandering to the Tory right' and said Government policy on the Human Rights Act was 'a shambles'.

Mr Khan said: 'Theresa May's comments show just how two-faced and weak this Government's commitment to human rights is.

'The Human Rights Act is the most significant defence for ordinary people against state power ever passed into law.

'Simply scrapping it is a lazy and incoherent position to hold. Two weeks ago the Deputy Prime Minister said of the Human Rights Act: 'It is here to stay'.

'Now the Home Secretary is saying his words aren't worth the paper they were written on. Government policy is a shambles.

'Someone in the Government now needs to be clear exactly what the policy is. Either the Deputy Prime Minister has been overruled, or this is another fantasy policy from Theresa May.'