'Free Palestine, boycott Israel' bank notes handed out by newsagent cause outrage
THE manager of a newsagent has come under fire for handing out bank notes stamped with the message reading "free Palestine, boycott Israel".
The boss of Willows News in Daubhill, Bolton, who wished only to be known as Abdul, told a local newspaper: “It’s simply based on what is currently going on at the moment to make people aware about what cause they need to be supporting.
“What Israel is doing is wrong, and we need to boycott them and support Palestine. Putting a little stamp on the notes is our way of raising awareness and getting the message across using a political message.
“Some people have come in and asked what it’s about, and some have realised that it is a good thing. Others don’t understand it, but there hasn’t been too much negativity.”
However, several locals were not happy about the defaced £5 notes.
I was livid. It is defacing the Queen’s currency
A grandfather, who only wanted to be known as Bill, said that he received one of the bank notes on Sunday.
The 67-year-old told the Bolton News: “I paid with a £10 note and received the fiver back folded in half, so I didn’t realise the stamp at first. But when I took it home there it was plain as day.
“I was livid. It is defacing the Queen’s currency. If I wrote ‘free England, boycott so and so’ on our notes I’d be in the police station quicker than I could think.
“It’s a political statement on our currency which is out of order. It is premeditated, not just written out of temper. I think whoever is responsible should be taken to task about it.”
Although the notes remain legal tender, the Bank of England confirmed that it is illegal to deface currency.
A spokesman for the Bank of England told the paper: “Defacing bank notes is definitely not something we would recommend but whether or not there would be a prosecution would be up to the Crown Prosecution Service to determine if it was in the public interest.
“We would advise people not to do it because one of the really important things is maintaining confidence in our currency and people being able to spot counterfeit money.
“The notes are legal tender but they would probably be taken out of circulation when they entered our processing plants.”
A long-term ceasefire was agreed in Gaza yesterday after seven weeks of fighting in the region between Israel and Hamas.
The most recent conflict has left more than 2,100 people – including 68 Israelis – dead.
