A 23-year-old man has been acquitted of stealing a banana worth 25p from an Italian restaurant in Birmingham, after a trial that cost the Crown Prosecution Service approximately £20,000.
James Gallagher, from Handsworth, was found not guilty at Birmingham Crown Court of taking the fruit from a restaurant in the Bullring shopping centre before it opened on 13 March. The two-day trial was held in the crown court rather than a magistrates' court because Gallagher opted for a jury trial, believing magistrates would have convicted him.
Speaking after the verdict, Gallagher expressed shock at the cost of the case. 'It's shocking, it's just a waste of taxpayers' money. I cannot understand how they've got away with it,' he said.
The CPS defended its decision to proceed with the prosecution. Martin Lindop, district crown prosecutor for Birmingham, said: 'It is not the cost of the item that determines whether we proceed with a prosecution, but whether there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction and it is in the public interest.'
Defence barrister Niall Skinner told the jury that Gallagher and another man, who had earlier pleaded guilty and received a 12-month conditional discharge, had been celebrating Gallagher's 23rd birthday and were tipsy. He argued that Gallagher had not been given the chance to pay for the banana because security guards intervened quickly.
