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A fraudster who tricked carnival organisers into believing Ali G would appear but instead booked a look-alike, has been fined and must carry out unpaid community work.
Tom Sinclair Junior even produced a fake contract to convince doubters that the comedian would take part in the event at Haverfordwest.
But secretly he had booked a look-alike called Dat Ali Gee and hoped to make £16,000 out of a disco he said the star would be attending in the evening.
A ziggurat that has very little to do with Ali G
Sinclair – who had been previously been warned by a judge that all sentencing options were being considered – was ordered to carry out 40 hours unpaid work and fined £500 costs at Swansea Crown Court for the attempted deception.
The court had heard how the 24-year-old had promised organiser David Howlett, an assistant bank manger, that Ali G would ride around Haverfordwest on a carnival float and would spend all day at the annual event.
Sinclair’s firm, Evolution Events Promotion Ltd., had become the main carnival sponsors and had hoped to attract 2,000 people to an evening disco at £8 a time.
But he had only booked a look-alike called Dat Ali Gee and was making arrangements to collect him from Swansea railway station.
Judge Mr Recorder Rowlands told him: “The real Ali G would have been a considerable attraction.
Ali G The real Ali G is played by comedian Sacha Baron Cohen “You knew it as a scam but tried to brazen it out by booking an impersonator.
“You tried to use the carnival for your own ends. It was a calculated attempt to deceive. You knew full well the real Ali G would not turn up.”
Pembrokeshire Council had put a noise limit on the disco and EEP Ltd, which was told to pay £1,000 prosecution costs, cancelled the event.
The court heard how Mr Howlett was “delighted and excited” to hear Ali G was on his way.
Ali G has become the leader of North Korea pic.twitter.com/Pylj2HbF26
— Presidential Candidate Bot (@Candidate__Bot) October 20, 2021
He quickly dashed off a press release announcing the imminent arrival of the “biggest name ever” to attend the carnival.
Ali G, he said, would spend all afternoon riding through town on a float, shake hands, sign autographs and stick around for the evening disco.
Meanwhile, EEP were selling tickets as fast as they could.
When local trading standards officers became suspicious Sinclair manufactured a contract with Ali G – comedian Sacha Baron Cohen – and hired a look-alike.
Sinclair and EEP were convicted of making a false statement. Sinclair, now a law student, told the court he was bankrupt.
Waitrose & Partners is set to be the first major retailer to sign up to the UK ‘Robust Potato Pledge‘, which will see the group move away from the use of copper-based fungicides on organic fresh potatoes in order to combat late blight.
According to a report by European Supermarket Magazine, the group aims to achieve this by growing and selling only resistant or ‘robust’ organic fresh potatoes by 2026.
The initiative is said to complement Waitrose’s other leading work in regenerative agriculture and ambitions to restore biodiversity in rural settings.
What on earth is going on here?
By 2026, the pledge partners will jointly work towards the goal that all fresh organic potatoes grown in the UK are robust varieties, in order to make organic potato cultivation more sustainable.
Waitrose aims to set the goal of increasing the proportion of Phytophthora resistant and other robust potatoes to 100% of its entire fresh organic range within five years, provided that these varieties meet the required quality.
🇬🇧 Waitrose signs up to UK’s organic ‘potato pledge’ https://t.co/xfnEawsdOf
— Neil Saunders (@NeilRetail) October 15, 2021
Hugh Blogg, horticultural advisor at the Soil Association, said: “It is great to see so many retailers signing up to this pledge, which we hope will help to unite supply chains in the organic potato sector.”
Exclusive
Exclusive
Drivers have been queuing around the block for fuel after three men bought 80% of the town’s supply.
Blah blah.
More stuff.
40 firefighters are at the scene tackling a fire at the London Underground station in Westminster.
Six fire engines have been called to Westminster Station on Bridge Street.
Crews were called at just before 11.30am to reports of smoke coming from an electrical room within the station.
Around 100 people were evacuated from the station near Parliament in central London.
The London Fire Brigade has said the incident is now “under control” with the cause still unknown.
Six fire engines and around 40 firefighters are at the scene of a fire at Westminster Station on Bridge Street in #Westminster. More information to follow. pic.twitter.com/slm6CSLjL9
— London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) October 5, 2021
A statement from the London Fire Brigaderead: “Six fire engines and around 40 firefighters were called to smoke issuing from an electrical room at Westminster Station on Bridge Street in Westminster.
“Firefighters were called to a large amount of smoke coming from an electrical room within the basement of the station. Around 100 people left the station before the Brigade arrived.
“The Brigade was called at 11:29am and the incident was under control by 12:49pm. Fire crews from Lambeth, Euston, Old Kent Road and Soho fire stations attended the scene.”
The cause of the smoke will be investigated in due time.