Apple Moorhouse said she felt sympathy for the couple who assaulted her — even as a UK court handed them prison sentences.
Michael and Fyona Bairstow, aged 77 and 72, were each sentenced to eight weeks in jail following their conviction for a racially motivated attack on the British-Filipino nurse at Manor Heath Park in Halifax, England, last August. The bench chairwoman, Gill Arnold, cited the gravity of the offense and the presence of young children at the scene as factors in the sentencing. Both were also directed to pay £175 (approximately P14,097) in compensation to Moorhouse.
The incident began when Moorhouse, who was visiting the park with her two daughters — aged 6 and 11 — and her parents, asked Michael Bairstow to put his dog on a leash after it approached her younger child and began barking. What followed was captured on video and later shared widely across social media.
Michael responded to Moorhouse’s request with a string of racial slurs, telling her to “shut up, f—k off, and go back to where you came from on the dinghy boat.” During the same confrontation, Fyona Bairstow mocked Moorhouse’s father, saying, “You can’t even speak English,” before turning to the nurse and saying, “As for you, do you know what you are? That is what we call slavery” — a reference to her work in the National Health Service.
The situation turned physical when Michael directed his dog to “get her, kill” and hurled a water-filled dog bowl at Moorhouse. As she attempted to leave, Fyona grabbed her by the ponytail and pulled her back.
Defense lawyer Raza Hussain told the BBC that the couple had entered guilty pleas and “fully accept the racial language they used was wholly inappropriate, which they deeply regret.” He also noted that widespread media coverage of the footage had caused them “significant embarrassment.”
Moorhouse, speaking to reporters after sentencing, said the outcome carried a broader meaning beyond her own case. “Racism is a crime,” she said, adding that she hoped the verdict would serve as “a clear message that racism is not acceptable.”
She acknowledged, however, that a custodial sentence had not been what she anticipated. “I can’t say I’m glad about it,” Moorhouse said. “I feel sorry for them.”
