British MP says system ‘fails women’ after off-duty policeman avoids jail for assault

Harriet Harman has criticised the police (Niall Carson/PA)

A male off-duty police officer convicted of drunkenly assaulting a woman has been spared jail, sparking criticism from a leading female MP that the “system fails women and protects men”.

Pc Oliver Banfield, who serves with West Midlands Police, admitted a charge of assault by beating on Emma Homer at an earlier hearing in January, and on Friday he was handed a curfew and ordered to pay compensation and costs at Leicester Magistrates’ Court.