I was surprised by this, like other sibling commenters. I was under the impression that common assault is only enacted when the victim is threateningly contacte

I was surprised by this, like other sibling commenters. I was under the impression that common assault is only enacted when the victim is threateningly contacted or injured, or has reasonable fear of that being about to happen. Maybe threatening language might play a part in that. Having a quick Google, the articles I've come across seem to indicate that swearing at police has in the past been interpreted as illegal, but nothing has mentioned it being classed as assault. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/8902770/Swearing-at-police-is-not-a-crime-judge-rules.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/8902770... http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/libertycentral/2010/jun/16/verbal-abuse-law http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/libertycentral/2010... Not a lawyer, obviously. Where did that opinion come from? Do you have a source?