Man who shouted abuse at hospital staff and police officers during pandemic jailed

A man who shouted ‘f*** the NHS’ in a Glasgow hospital during the coronavirus pandemic has been jailed for 18 months.

Steven Irvine also shouted foul-mouthed abuse at doctors at the Queen Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in July.

The 29-year-old earlier racially abused an Asian police officer and called his colleagues ‘Fenian b*s’ before spitting at them.

Irvine pleaded at Glasgow Sheriff Court to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner aggravated by religious and racial prejudice.

He also admitted assaulting two officers.

The court heard officers attended at a property in the city's Castlemilk due to a reported disturbance.

Irvine, who was found drunk with a bleeding wound to his nose, became hostile to the officers.

Prosecutor Adele MacDonald told the court Irvine was placed into a cell van.

He shouted: “F*ing fenian b****s, f Pope John Paul the second, no surrender, fing scummy b**s.”

Irvine became disruptive in the van kicking the cell walls before calling an officer a “baldy Irish b*.”

He was later held in custody where he shouted abuse at PC Radoslaw Mazur.

He said: “Why have you even got a job in this country? You can’t even speak English” before calling him a “manky monkey.”

Irvine was transported to hospital, because of his injury, and attempted to spit at two officers.

Miss MacDonald added that the blood-filled spittle narrowly missed the pair who closed a door on him in time.

Irvine shouted: “F Catholics, fing Polish b**s working for two pounds an hour, f***ing Polish monkey.”

Miss MacDonald said: “While in the hospital car park the accused refused to wear a surgical mask for the safety and benefit of other people due to the Covid-19 situation.

“He shouted ‘F*** the NHS.

“While in A&E he refused any form of medical treatment shouting ‘F*** the doctors, take me to a cell.”

Irvine was eventually treated.

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