Gary Bushell, one of the country's leading tabloid journalists, is today in
Police custody after being arrested at his London home late last night. The
bearded journalist, 53, has been accused of stealing millions of pounds worth of
socks, with a sizable amount of pairs found in the star's home following a
police raid on his flat in north London. Police estimate the street value of the
seized clothing to be in the region of '2 to 3 million pounds', with Bushell now
facing a lengthy community service sentence if found guilty on charges of theft.
Suspicions of Bushell's activities first arose two weeks ago, when the London
Metropolitian police received an anonymous phone call, claiming that Bushell had
been seen racing out of a house in Lewisham clutching two plastic bags filled
with assorted socks. With an approximate number of 5 million reported sock
thefts remaining unsolved every year in the London area alone, not including an
undoubtedly higher number of unreported sock incidents, the Metropolitan Police
believed this sighting to be a significant lead.
Chief inspector Nigel Gumm last night spoke of the investigation that resulted
in Bushell's arrest. He said
"Sock theft has for years gone unnoticed as most people will put their
disappearance down to their own stupidity, believing that they themselves have
"just lost them". As a result the socks are quickly replaced and 95% of the
time, the crime goes unreported. Having seen the amount of socks Bushell had in
his possession last night, we here suspect that the reasons for these missing
socks are far more sinister than mere misplacement, and by catching Bushell, we
have helped to prevent many more socks being taken from their owners"
Bushell meanwhile has told police that the seized items were all legally payed
for, and in a statement read out by his lawyer after the arrest claimed his
reasoning for owning so many pairs of socks was because he
"really, really like socks". "Why should a man be reprimanded because he likes
to collect - are Disc Jockeys arrested because of they own large numbers of
records? Why am I being singled out because my collection is unique. Its
ridiculous" the statement went on to read.
The Journalist's arrest has opened up debate throughout the country about sock
misplacement, with many people now convinced he is responsible for their own
socks going missing. Mabel Price of Northamptonshire told us
"The fact that Bushell has managed to make his crimes look as if it was the
victims fault shows what a dangerous man he is. For years, I believed that my
socks went missing because I had lost them, but now I know it was Bushell all
along, I am very very angry that he has managed to do this time and time again."
George Mildred of Kent thought that he saw saw Bushell in his home six months
ago, but like so many, dismissed what he saw as nothing important
"I did see what looked like a bearded man crawling around in the Living room a
few months back, but I thought it was just the dog - they do look quite
similar.Now I think about it there are a couple of pairs of socks that I haven't
seen in a while, so it could have been him"
Even friends of Bushell spoke of sock based experience they've had with him in
the past which at the time they did not feel was suspicious. Fellow "The Sun"
journalist Trevor 'backstabber' Simon said this shortly after Bushell's arrest
"I do remember when Gary was last at my house he asked me if he could borrow a
I'm now struggling to believe that he had genuinely ran out of clean ones"
Bushell's court case is due to begin on 7th May 2007. If found guilty he faces a
14 year community service punishment with an additional fine of up to £30,000. It is as yet unknown what will become of the woolen footwear
Police custody after being arrested at his London home late last night. The
bearded journalist, 53, has been accused of stealing millions of pounds worth of
socks, with a sizable amount of pairs found in the star's home following a
police raid on his flat in north London. Police estimate the street value of the
seized clothing to be in the region of '2 to 3 million pounds', with Bushell now
facing a lengthy community service sentence if found guilty on charges of theft.
Suspicions of Bushell's activities first arose two weeks ago, when the London
Metropolitian police received an anonymous phone call, claiming that Bushell had
been seen racing out of a house in Lewisham clutching two plastic bags filled
with assorted socks. With an approximate number of 5 million reported sock
thefts remaining unsolved every year in the London area alone, not including an
undoubtedly higher number of unreported sock incidents, the Metropolitan Police
believed this sighting to be a significant lead.
Chief inspector Nigel Gumm last night spoke of the investigation that resulted
in Bushell's arrest. He said
"Sock theft has for years gone unnoticed as most people will put their
disappearance down to their own stupidity, believing that they themselves have
"just lost them". As a result the socks are quickly replaced and 95% of the
time, the crime goes unreported. Having seen the amount of socks Bushell had in
his possession last night, we here suspect that the reasons for these missing
socks are far more sinister than mere misplacement, and by catching Bushell, we
have helped to prevent many more socks being taken from their owners"
Bushell meanwhile has told police that the seized items were all legally payed
for, and in a statement read out by his lawyer after the arrest claimed his
reasoning for owning so many pairs of socks was because he
"really, really like socks". "Why should a man be reprimanded because he likes
to collect - are Disc Jockeys arrested because of they own large numbers of
records? Why am I being singled out because my collection is unique. Its
ridiculous" the statement went on to read.
The Journalist's arrest has opened up debate throughout the country about sock
misplacement, with many people now convinced he is responsible for their own
socks going missing. Mabel Price of Northamptonshire told us
"The fact that Bushell has managed to make his crimes look as if it was the
victims fault shows what a dangerous man he is. For years, I believed that my
socks went missing because I had lost them, but now I know it was Bushell all
along, I am very very angry that he has managed to do this time and time again."
George Mildred of Kent thought that he saw saw Bushell in his home six months
ago, but like so many, dismissed what he saw as nothing important
"I did see what looked like a bearded man crawling around in the Living room a
few months back, but I thought it was just the dog - they do look quite
similar.Now I think about it there are a couple of pairs of socks that I haven't
seen in a while, so it could have been him"
Even friends of Bushell spoke of sock based experience they've had with him in
the past which at the time they did not feel was suspicious. Fellow "The Sun"
journalist Trevor 'backstabber' Simon said this shortly after Bushell's arrest
"I do remember when Gary was last at my house he asked me if he could borrow a
pair of my socks for work the next day as he had ran out of clean ones. I never
did get them back. Seeing the amount of socks that were in his house last night,I'm now struggling to believe that he had genuinely ran out of clean ones"
Bushell's court case is due to begin on 7th May 2007. If found guilty he faces a
14 year community service punishment with an additional fine of up to £30,000. It is as yet unknown what will become of the woolen footwear
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