Crime and punishment in the UK after 20+ years of a liberal concensus

'A group of young workers who drunkenly attacked a man on a train celebrated with high fives... (the three) subjected their fellow passenger to a "volley of punches and kicks" and stamped on his head after he complained about their noise on a train between London and Hertford. Each pleaded guilty to violent disorder and assault and was given a four month suspended jail sentence and 300 hours community service'

The Telegraph also reported that

'A teacher who failed to mention being jailed abroad for membership of a banned Islamic group can remain in the classroom.

Ian Nisbet was one of three Britons jailed in Egypt in 2002 for being in Hizb ut-Tahrir, which wants Muslim countries to unite under Sharia Law.... It... decided that it was "not appropriate" to impose any sanction.'

But a crime that is still punishable by the courts is shaving off part of an Imam's beard: 'Three Muslim men have been warned they face jail for shaving off a mosque leader's beard'

It truly is an odd world in which we live, especially as the Imam is himslef facing trial for allegedly sexually abusing boys.

That last element story made me wonder how the BBC were reporting the accusations against Imam Mohammed Hanif Khan bearing in mind their attacks on the Catholic Church for complicity in the sexual abuse of young boys. A quick Google search reveals that whilst all the other top 10 articles report the accustaions against the Imam, the BBC alone report the story from the point of view of the Imam 'BBC News - Ex mosque director denies sex charges in Stoke hearing'. How odd, why would this be? Did the BBC ever report the denials of Catholic priests rather than the accusations against them?