Prison officer sparked jail chaos after waving Union Jack at inmates

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A prison officer who sparked chaos at a jail by waving a Union Jack in front of inmates has been ordered to do unpaid work. Stuart Richardson held the flat aloft on a pole days after he also had it tied around his neck at HMP Low Moss in Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire.

One colleague describe raging prisoners being “very angry” amid fears Richardson could have caused a fight.The 33-year-old pleaded guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to acting in a threatening and abusive manner between June 29 and July 1 2022.The claims that he had made sectarian remarks and that the offence was aggravated by religious prejudice were deleted by prosecutors.Richardson’s lawyer stated that the now ex-guard had been “absolutely stupid” and his lost his job of three years as a result.He had originally gone on trial before his guilty plea was accepted. Join the Daily Record's WhatsApp community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages. Sheriff Andrew Cubie stated that Richardson will do 80 hours of unpaid work at today/yesterday’s sentencing.Former prison worker Vincent Stewart gave evidence at the trial in December.He first recalled a day that he could hear inmates “having a laugh” at the jail’s waste management area.Mr Stewart said: “I saw Stuart coming through the door with the Union Jack tied around his neck carrying on with the other boys.”Fiscal Leo McGinn asked if anything was said at the time.Mr Stewart replied: “There was a bit of carry on with the other boys.“Someone said ‘Get the flag out, the prisoners are coming down’ and Stuart replied ‘it’s my flag, it’s my country’.”CCTV was also shown to the court where Richardson was seen to fly the flag from a pole.The hearing was told that Richardson was again