04 June 2010 | Author: J. Morton News Editor

Tweet carefully: bomb joke convict seeking appeal

Paul Chambers of Doncaster was allegedly just letting off a little steam after flights were grounded at Robin Hood Airport in Yorkshire this January. After all, he was due to meet a woman he met online in Belfast just a short time later.

The following five months, however, have been no joke: Chambers has been sentenced under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 of sending a threatening message, received a £1,000 fine and has been slapped with a criminal record by Doncaster Magistrates' Court.

However, following his conviction over the message, many Twitter users, as well as bloggers and other internet commentators, have rallied behind the unlikely figurehead, pledging support in case of appeal. One legal blogger, lawyer Allen Green of the Jack of Kent blog, has even volunteered to coordinate Chambers' appeal.

"I think we can be optimistic for Paul's chances on appeal, but that sadly is not a certainty," Green wrote in a blog posting about the appeal.

He also details that the appeal will be handled by Stephen Ferguson, who he described as "one of the United Kingdom's best and most sought-after defence and appellate barristers."

A fund for the appeal has already been set up by supporters.

Chambers launched the offending tweet - which said, "Crap! Robin Hood Airport is closed. You've got a week and a bit to get your shit together otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high!" - in anticipation of flying to meet a woman he'd met on the Twitter microblogging site.

He said of the tweet at his trial: "It did not cross my mind that Robin Hood would ever look at Twitter or take it seriously because it was innocuous hyperbole."

Many have seen the lighter side of this case, and through an appeal, Chambers most likely hopes the courts will see this as well.

But, regardless of the outcome, one positive thing has come from the debacle: Chambers and the woman he was to meet have begun dating over the course of these proceedings.

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