A man from Reading who was jailed for assaulting a police officer during a far-right protest near Downing Street has lost his appeal against his sentence. Ozzie Cush, 20, was sentenced to 10 months in prison after he kicked a Metropolitan Police officer in the hand during unrest on July 31.
During the appeal hearing on November 7, prosecutor Alex Agbamu described Cush’s actions as unprovoked, stating there was “simply no need for the defendant to have acted how he did.” Sentencing judge Benedict Kelleher initially condemned Cush’s actions as displaying “a complete contempt” for the police force, adding that the offence was “clearly deliberate” and risked inflaming an already tense situation by potentially encouraging others to attack police officers.
Cush and three other individuals involved in the protest, which followed the Southport stabbings, sought to have their sentences reduced by the Court of Appeal. His lawyer, Alex Granville, argued that suspended sentences combined with punitive community work could serve as an effective deterrent while also supporting rehabilitation. He emphasized the importance of due process, especially amid high-profile cases with strong public opinion.
However, Lady Carr, representing the panel of appeal judges, dismissed the appeal, affirming that Cush’s sentence was appropriate given his behaviour and prior offences. She highlighted that Cush was already on bail for criminal damage at the time of the assault and would have been aware of the police dispersal order.
“The applicant began to walk away but deliberately returned to attack the officer who was filming events,” Lady Carr noted. “This action risked provoking similar violence from others while police were managing a challenging situation.”
