Column: Shame on the inflatable imbeciles who showed a grave lack of respect

A group of British men on a stag-do left the world speechless when they decided to pose for selfies, clutching a sex doll at Ground Zero on the eve of the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack.

The memorial for the atrocity, which saw 3,000 people perish, was used as the backdrop for their smiling selfies to the dismay of others who’d gone to pay their respects. A police officer eventually confronted the group and told them to leave. It has since emerged three of the Brits supposedly work together at a bank in New York. They posed for the snaps just two days before the 15th anniversary of one of the worst terrorist attacks the world has ever seen. The day the Twin Towers came down thousands were killed but hundreds more were maimed both physically and psychologically. So why these silly ‘bankers’ thought it was a great idea to take a blow-up doll there, I have no idea. It’s idiots like this that make me feel ashamed to be British. For goodness sake, show some respect. If they had pulled this stunt in the Middle East they'd most likely be stoned to death.

Rosanne Hughes who lost her husband Thomas, 46, in the terror attack summed it up when she said: “I’m speechless. I don’t even have any words – it’s a disgrace.”

She’s right, and it is.

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Rosanne, whose two children – a boy and girl – lost their father at ages 13 and 15 respectively. She added: “That is sacred ground. I lost my husband and I don’t even know what to say. It’s disgusting. It’s disgraceful to take selfies of anybody there laughing and smiling when they haven’t lived the life we’ve lived for 15 years.”

I visited the 9/11 sight nine years ago, and to say it is right in the heart of one of the busiest cities in the world, the place is eerily quiet. It evokes grief even if you haven’t lost a loved one, because everyone of a certain age remembers images of the planes flying into the Twin Towers. It was, without a doubt, one of the most shocking things I have ever seen. I’d just given birth to my daughter, and I remember wondering what type of world I’d brought her into where human beings could inflict such a level of barbarity on others.

I wonder if these stags would visit the vast war graves in France, or the grounds of Auschwitz with a blow-up doll. Would they pose for selfies at the local cemetery clutching the hand of their inflated friend? I doubt it very much. Ground Zero is a mass grave. There are still people buried there whose remains have never been found and never will. It is sacred ground and should be treated as such.

What next? A trip to Anne Frank’s home in Amsterdam with Plastic Pauline? These ‘stags’ had receding hairlines were dressed in ‘dad shorts’, so they can’t even blame the folly of youth.

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They are old enough to know better and to have seen images of people jumping to their deaths rather face being burned to death by the raging inferno that gripped both towers. To this day, the sight of those poor jumping men and women haunt me. There were over 200 people who did that, not to mention the hundreds more firefighters and police who also died that day trying to save others. It’s certainly nothing to smile about.

If I were the bride of this stag, I’d be wondering what type of man I was about to marry.

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