In the original example the guy made a comment on Twitter. Not really the same thing is it.

Obviously not, but as has been pointed out above, it's an 'easy' conviction as it is in black and white and probably done to set an example.

Just imagine the poor sod in counter-terrorism who has to sift through every ineternet post containing the words bomb and/or gun and/or kill………………..oops there's another one 😆

You may find that we are all on the "watch list" any way, after
the number of references to "Nuke it from orbit" and "Own with
some bombers". 8)

They do monitor the interweb/phone and have alerts if certain phrases are used though don't they? Some big computer or something sat there humming away, surfing for porn all day and occasionally it is alerted to bomb threats and stuff.

Just send two emails to yourself, one with "Bomb plot" as the title, and one with "Hello", and see which gets there first. They are watching YOU!

Utterly contemptible behaviour from the CPS. You turn an otherwise law abiding citizen into a criminal because of an ill advised choice of words…Brilliant.

back in the 80s (or maybe early 90s) my local tory MP was running late for a plane he was due to catch.

He got to the airport – but had missed last call for the flight.

His response was to announce he had a bomb in his bag – working on the assumption that this would prevent any flights taking off and buy him enough time to board the plane.

He got no more than a few harsh words for doing this – certainly no criminal record

They said something like 'if he said it at the check-in desk…'

BUT HE WASN'T AT THE CHECK-IN DESK AND IT WAS CLEARLY NOT A SERIOUS THREAT

I was confident common sense would prevail in my day in court.

Some woeful naivety on his part there I feel. Bloody ridiculous behaviour from CPS. As has been said woodys examples are completely different, anyone who jokes about it in the airport deserves punishing, fine or something but criminal record? hmm

Chuckles at Zokes and grahamh

Oddly, I was just on a job site and there was a banner add for MI5, they're wanting 'digital intelligence specialists'. I suppose if you got the job and found out how much snooping on us all they do, you wouldn't be able to tell anyone…

Airport security is a joke. Some years ago on my way to Belfast they scanned my briefcase (which of course just had my packed lunch and a copy of a Gentlemen's interest magazine), and they stopped to pull out the carton of Ribena I had, this idiot then proceed to give it a little shake…next to his ear.

ourmaninthenorth – Member

Most of all, this demonstrates the danger of a parliament so dominated by one party and its ideology of legislating for everything, that crass and dangerous laws like this which operate on a strict liability basis can be passed.

It is more telling that those who would protect us are more taken with the opportunity to fulfil such fatuous legislation that they have entirely failed to consider the bigger picture.

Moreover, even if he did genuinely intend to blow up the airport, what value is there in prosecuting him for stating his intentions? Just because schoolkids have advertised that they intended to shoot their classmates and teachers does not mean that a prosecution for publiscing this aim would necessarily prevent them from seeing it through.

Sadly, though the New Labour years may have brought much good to the nation, pernicious laws like this – something I would have expected more of the Michael Howard era – have shown how dangerous and unchecked government can be.

Erudite and spot on.

On a similar note:
http://m.guardian.co.uk/?id=102202&story=http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/may/10/stop-search-photographer-grant-smith

I've been out cycling, done the Haldon red and had steak n chips. Has binners been nicked yet?