PwC Partner dressed as bishop chases down handbag thief

A soon-to-be PwC Partner from Oxfordshire has made headlines after he apprehended a suspected handbag thief in London. However, it was not just the act of amateur heroics which garnered Max Livingstonee-Learmonth so much attention, as the fact that while he pursued the suspect, he was dressed in the robes of a bishop, and bidding to break a world record.

Many comic book heroes wear capes while committing themselves to battling crime, but the cumbersome cassock of a bishop is quite another matter. Despite this challenging attire, Max Livingstonee-Learmonth – who is set to become a Partner at Big Four firm PwC in October 2018 – managed to keep pace with a suspected thief amid the chaos of a 10 kilometre race. Catching up with the suspect on Tooley Street, London, Livingstone-Learmonth then pinned him to a wall with his bishop’s staff before two drinkers from a nearby pub helped hold the man down until police arrived.

As bizarre as it sounds, the bishop’s staff was an all-important factor, as by retaining it throughout the pursuit, the former Connect Group Strategy Director was able to remain in contention for a marathon charity effort. The I Move London Relay involves 2,500 runners, with teams taking it in turns to carry a baton over a combined distance of 4,000 miles. Through a heat-wave which has gripped the UK in recent weeks, groups between two and 50 are currently running each leg in 10km and 5km loops, in a continuous 30 day period in central London.

On top of his and his team’s efforts, Livingstone-Learmonth was also part of a bid to break the world record for the longest non-stop relay, which currently stands at 3,504.28 miles. Suddenly, Livingstone-Learmonth said, he noticed a woman falling over in a desperate bid to catch an alleged thief, before he intervened.

Commenting on the eventful race, he said, “A guy shouted, ‘Stop that man’, and it was just pure instinct to run after him. I caught up to him and pinned him to a wall with my crosier… I said, ‘It’s not your day if you’ve been run down by a bishop’. He was squirming and protesting his innocence but he was caught red-handed. He had dropped a lot of phones and wallets on the way.”

Seeing the funny side, he added, “I’m not religious but it does feel a bit like divine intervention that I was there.”

By retaining his holy staff – the team baton – during the chase, Livingstone-Learmonth kept his team in contention, not only for the record or for the race, but for the group’s charity efforts. Livingstone-Learmonth, his wife Sarah Dudgeon, and their friend Victoria Carter (dressed as a monk and a nun respectively) are running to raise money for the Running Charity, which works with young homeless people, and Sported, a community programme.

Carter and Livingstone-Learmonth regularly compete in races under the team name Religious About Running. They set a record last year for running the London Marathon dressed as a bishop, monk and nun, with a time of three hours, 21 minutes, 33 seconds.

Meanwhile, according to a spokesman from the Metropolitan Police, following the arrest, the 23-year-old man suspected of theft has since been released under investigation.

Related: PwC rides again, as June charity cycle tour begins.