A weekly reporter has been cautioned by police after admitting assaulting a councillor during a civic fundraising event.

Greg Truscott, chief reporter with the Tindle-owned South London Press, pushed Councillor Mark Bennett at the Mayor of Lambeth’s annual fundraising dinner which was held earlier this month on a cruise boat on the River Thames.

Guests at the event, which raised £7,000 for the mayor’s charities, included councillors, senior council staff and mayors from other London boroughs.

Lambeth Council has now banned him from all its buildings, events and leisure centres after he admitted an offence of common assault on Coun Bennett, who is the authority’s community safety cabinet member, responsible for tackling crime and anti-social behaviour.

Council leader Steve Reed said the move was a “precaution to protect staff from further attacks”.

The incident occurred after Mr Truscott was apparently angered by comments Coun Bennett had posted on his Twitter page, calling the SLP the ‘South London Pimp’ in reference to it carrying personal services ads.

Mr Truscott, who brought the world the infamous ‘Squirrels on Crack’ story about cocaine-addicted rodents, was offered a police caution for the assault because of his previous good character and the low level of the offence.

Lambeth Council’s legal director wrote to the SLP to complain and ask what disciplinary would action be taken and Mr Truscott has since been moved from the Lambeth desk to cover Southwark news stories instead.

The South London Press declined to comment.

Comments

Hannah (22/03/2010 09:09:47)
What kind of a world do we live in where pushing someone means you get a criminal record? Methinks Councillor Bennett milked this for all it was worth.

Anon (22/03/2010 09:36:26)
A police caution isn’t something for the criminal record though, is it?
What kind of a world do we live in when a journalist can’t be professional enough to keep a lid on his temper, especially when it comes to someone criticising his publication? Good God, what was he trying to prtoect? The honour of a newspaper?
I’m disappointed, to be honest. Greg Truscott was an ambassador for his employer and acted in an unprofessional manner. He’s lucky he didn;t find himself down the job centre. It’s as simple as that.

The thinker (22/03/2010 10:17:54)
Great way to get out of covering council meetings…

thumper (22/03/2010 11:01:46)
In for a penny…shoulda properly lamped him.

Duffo (22/03/2010 11:02:52)
Handbags at dawn. Time wasters! Why don’t this pair go to the boxing gym and raise some cash for a local charity. No? I didn’t think so.

opto (22/03/2010 12:53:41)
good one thinker,
covering council meetings? What’s that. Obviously over-staffed.

Jack Wood (25/03/2010 10:59:32)
So bruiser Truscott ruffled some council feathers at Lambeth? Probably about time he was moved onto another patch – my understanding is that he has been covering the same area for a very long time.
Does anyone know if Mr Truscott was disciplined by his employers? Or has there been a congratulatory party thrown for his initiative??
Finally, I think Labour Stockwell should maybe consider their comments. Greg has received a caution because of the minor nature of the offence and his previous good character.