Magistrate told defendant he would give him a 'good hiding'

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy JON BRADY, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 15:59 BST, 1 June 2026 | Updated: 16:03 BST, 1 June 2026

A magistrate has been given a formal warning after suggesting he would give a 'good hiding' to a defendant who was shouting about being jailed.Paul Gibson, a former magistrate on the South-East Essex bench, admitted he 'let himself down badly' when he lost his composure during a 'difficult and stressful hearing'.He has now been issued with a sanction of formal advice for misconduct following an investigation.Mr Gibson said he had 'allowed himself to be provoked by the defendant', who had shouted abuse at him and his fellow magistrates from the dock.The defendant had also started filming proceedings on their phone - an offence for which an individual can be found in contempt of court.At this point, Mr Gibson said he would give the defendant 'a hiding if he continued shouting', according to a written statement issued by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office.He told the JCIO that he accepted he had said these words, but that they had been intended for his fellow magistrates on the bench, rather than for the ears of the defendant.The incident was later referred to in court during the defendant's appeal hearing at Crown Court. Magistrate Paul Gibson has been sanctioned after telling a defendant he would give them a 'good hiding' (file photo of a magistrates' court)An investigator found that Mr Gibson had made reference to giving the defendant 'a good hiding', and that this had arisen 'from a single occasion on which he briefly lost his composure while dealing with a difficult and stressful situation'.'Mr Gibson said he had allowed himself to be provoked by the defendant, and the difficult and stressful nature of the hearing, and by the fact that he was fearful for his colleagues and himself,' the summary noted.'He said that this had led him to make the statement. He apologised for his actions and said that on reflection he had let himself down badly.'The JCIO said that his actions 'amounted to misconduct' and recommended that he be given a sanction of formal advice - the least severe course of action available.Senior judge Mr Justice Keehan and Lord Chancellor David Lammy agreed on the sanction for misconduct.The JCIO noted that this came amid a record of 'long unblemished service'. It has not disclosed the court at which the exchange happened, nor the name of the defendant or the nature of the offence for which they were sentenced.