A teenager who was arrested after posting a picture of a burning poppy on Facebook has escaped charges after meeting serving and former military personnel as part of a restorative justice programme.
Linford House, 19, from Aylesham, Kent, was detained on Remembrance Sunday in Canterbury after the image of a poppy being torched by a lighter was reported to police. It was accompanied by a message that reportedly said: "How about that you squadey [sic] cunts."
In Canterbury on Wednesday, he met an ex-marine, a sergeant major, members of the Royal British Legion and representatives from the Scotty's Little Soldiers charity for children of service personnel who have been killed.
Kent police said House agreed "to meet representatives of those affected by his behaviour to apologise and discuss how his actions affected others".
House said at the meeting: "I am deeply sorry for what I did. I think about it everyday and it's always in the back of my mind. I've lost friends over what happened but I didn't want to hide away – I wanted to make things right as much as possible.
"The poppy is a symbol of peace and I shouldn't have done what I did. I'm sorry to everyone that it's offended."
House suggested ways in which he could work with the Royal British Legion and Scotty's Little Soldiers in future, according to Kent police.
War veterans and community leaders condemned his Facebook posting but his arrest prompted allegations of overzealous policing of the internet. Civil liberties groups criticised the arrest as a restriction on freedom of expression.
House's father, Keith, said his son was drunk when he posted the picture, which he could not remember putting up and subsequently deleted. His son had been "idiotic" but should have been told off rather than arrested, he said.
House was moved out of Aylesham for his own protection. Chief Constable Ian Learmonth said Kent police had achieved "a positive resolution for all".
Among those House met were Garrison Sergeant Major John Garrity and Scotty's Little Soldiers founder Nikki Scott, who lost her husband, Corporal Lee Scott, in 2009 in Afghanistan. She said: "When I saw the picture I was hurt, upset and disgusted. It was good to see Mr House talk to us and apologise, and hopefully he will be able to go some way to making up for some of the offence he caused."
The director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer, issued guidelines on Tuesday under which people who misuse social media are less likely to be prosecuted if they take down a message and express remorse. In March 2011, Emdadur Choudhury, a member of Muslims Against Crusades, was fined £50 at Belmarsh magistrates court in London for burning two poppies during the two minutes' silence commemorating Armistice Day. Choudhury had denied a public order offence of burning the poppies in a way likely to cause "harassment, harm or distress" to witnesses.
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