‘I got locked up for going to the shops’

A popular French YouTuber slammed British justice after claiming he spent four days in prison for live-streaming his trip to the shops.

Bule Mbelu, who uses the handle Mr Boris Becker (corr), boasts nearly two million followers on Instagram.

The Frenchman, 27, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court charged with breaking lockdown restrictions in his full name Bule Mbelu Boris Becker.

He was arrested by police on Saturday (23) at the Embankment, central London, a two minute walk from his flat in York Buildings.

When he was led into the dock, wearing a rainbow Puffa jacket, the YouTuber was asked if he had been arrested yesterday (tues).

He replied: ‘No, I was arrested on Saturday. I’m a YouTuber. I’m very famous in France. My name is Boris Becker.

‘I’ve been here Saturday so that is Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. Four days.’

The legal advisor in court told him ‘that is so, so bad, I am so, so sorry you’ve been in custody for so long’ and released him from the dock.

Outside court he said: ‘I don’t understand what happened. I feel so sad and this was so disrespectful. I have been four days in the cell for nothing. That is not normal that is crazy.

‘It’s f***** up.

‘We wanted to buy something, just food. Then we meet the police.

‘They said go back home silly boy. I said OK.

‘Three of four minutes later I see they are coming. I knew it was for us.

‘He takes me like I’m a criminal, you know the handcuffs.

‘I feel so bad. I feel there is no justice.

‘In the van they said oh a YouTuber with 1.8 million followers. I didn’t say anything about that. They told me I was famous.

‘They said you’re going to the cell.’

He said the cell was ‘seriously not good. I got pain which was so strong. Seriously, I didn’t deserve it for that reason.’

His cousin Tairo Tavares claims he was fined £200 for being with him but says officers ‘were only interested’ in his relative.

Mr Tavares said: ‘Officers took my name and details. They told him go home, go home. As we were walking my cousin was streaming because obviously he’s famous.

‘They found his Instagram they were watching his live-stream so they came back to us. They were looking at us and came back and that’s when we started running home quickly.

‘We went into home they stopped in front of us and went straight to my cousin like they didn’t even see me.

‘I told them can I come with him as well because he doesn’t really speak English.

‘They asked my cousin if he had ID then they said you’re under arrest. I said for what reason. Why didn’t they take me?’

Bule Mbelu Boris Becker was charged with being a person living in a Tier 4 area who left the place they were living without a reasonable excuse.

The charge has now been dropped by the CPS.