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LEGION'S ANGER AS CONMAN STAYS FREE

A thief who cheated the British Legion has escaped jail

Wednesday May 9,2007

By Tom Price

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MEMBERS of a branch of the British Legion have reacted with fury after an official who cheated veterans out of a D-Day trip to Normandy avoided jail for a second time.

Edward Portlock, 73, pocketed £2,228 from members who had paid him for the tour of Second World War battlefields.

A court hearing in November was told how one member, Harry Francis, 82, who served with the SBS, gave Portlock his six Second World War medals to re-ribbon, but he sold them for £275.

At the time, Mr Francis, from Bristol, said: “I gave them to Portlock in good faith because he said he could get them done free of charge. I felt sick when I found out what he’d done – it was really devastating. How can a man do that?”

Mr Francis had to spend £150 to pay for replacement medals.

Portlock admitted three charges of theft, four of deception and asked for a further eight to be taken into consideration at Gloucester Crown Court.

Judge Martin Picton deferred sentencing until yesterday, telling Portlock, from Gloucester, he would be jailed if he failed to repay the cash.

But Portlock’s lawyer Nick Fridd told the court he had still not repaid it. Sentencing will now take place on May 15.

However members of the Hardwicke branch of the RBL said they were disgusted Portlock had still not been jailed. Tony Smith, former branch president, said: “He’s caused so much trouble, he’s left a nasty taste in everyone’s mouths.

“We are waiting to see him go down, it’s such an evil thing. We didn’t expect the money back.” Gordon McRae, whose father Alexander was Portlock’s friend, added: “My dad scrimped and saved to pay money for the trip but he died in January. He was unaware of what was going on.

“Portlock ripped off so many people. It was his birthday today, I just wish he’d got the best birthday present and got sent down.”

The court had heard Portlock had taken six other medals from the branch and cash from a sponsored sky
dive. He used the cash to supplement his pension and pay for car repairs.

Portlock, who has deception convictions from the 1960s and 1980s, used various excuses when asked for the money to be returned, including saying that he was ill.