Britishers Not Allowed To Defend Themselves?

This was news in September 2011, but I just found out about it today. England has a real "yob" problem - unemployed youths going around beating up the defenseless..but apparently if you fight back with the intent to actually harm the person who is trying to harm you, you're probably the one who will go to jail.

From England's Huffington Post: Tim Larkin, American Self-Defence Instructor, Banned From UK By Home Secretary Theresa May
An American self-defence instructor has been banned from Britain by Home Secretary Theresa May, ahead of a series of seminars the man had planned in the UK.

Tim Larkin, who is accused of promoting vigilante behaviour with his style of teaching, was last night prevented from boarding a flight to Britain from Las Vegas.

He was handed a letter from the UK Border Agency saying he had been excluded from Britain because his presence was not conducive to the public good.

It is thought there was concern over his plans to hold a series of seminars in areas including riot-hit Tottenham and Birmingham.

He has attracted criticism for his approach to self-defence, which teaches victims to attack and injure to fend off assault.

Mr Larkin told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that his exclusion was a "gross overreaction".

"It says there's no right of appeal. I have a lot of support over in the UK, I have people I can go to, there are Members of Parliament I'm sure I can go to, and maybe this can be reconsidered," he said.

"There is nothing outrageous about it, there's nothing that I'm going around to incite violence or to incite vigilantism - that's a characterisation of the people who hear my opinions on self-defence."

A spokeswoman for the Home Office confirmed that Larkin had been served an exclusion order, adding that "the Home Secretary will seek to exclude an individual if she considers that his or her presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good."