Far-right terrorist from Lancashire jailed for over four years

February 23, 2022 Article

Counter-terror police made clear that far-right terrorists, like Conrad Howarth, will face the “consequences” for their actions.

41-year-old Howarth of Pinfold Place, Nelson, in Lancashire, received a four-and-a-half-year prison sentence at Manchester Crown Court on February 15.

A press release from Greater Manchester Police confirmed that Howarth proved an ideological obsession with the far-right.

In court, he pleaded guilty to one offence under section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000, which criminalises “collecting, recording, possessing or viewing by way of the internet, information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.”

Howarth first appeared in court in September 2021, after counter-terror police raided their address in May.

Police also charged under section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 for possession of an extreme pornographic image on a laptop.

After pleading guilty to this offence, CourtNewsUK revealed that the extreme pornographic image concerned bestiality.

Detective Chief Inspector Clare Devlin, of Counter Terrorism Policing North West (CTPNW), said: “The evidence seized in this investigation was concerning and demonstrated Howarth’s obsession with far right wing ideologies.

“Today’s verdict sends the message that extreme right-wing terrorism will not be tolerated and perpetrators will face the consequences of their actions.”

 

 

 

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Categories: Far Right groups, GMP, Lancashire, News, terrorism

Locals remove sticker of far-right Polish clothing brand in Walthamstow

February 14, 2022 Article

A sticker promoting a far-right website in Poland found on a bus stop in Walthamstow has since been removed.

A resident waiting for a bus on the evening of January 19 on Hoe Street saw the sticker, which read “F*** the system,” but did not learn of its violent, hateful nature until they researched it further on their route home.

A local resident documented the sticker without knowing its origins. The subsequent removal occurred on Jan 31 (or sometime earlier).

To understand more about the website, Tell MAMA spoke with Never Again – one of Poland’s most prominent anti-racism organisations.

A spokesperson confirmed its links to the violent football hooligan scene with strong far-right links, with an assortment of its “products” offering violent messages (including violent death threats against police and alleged informers).

Never Again mentioned how the far-right political actor and agitator Marian Kowalski had promoted their materials on social media. The t-shirt Kowalski promoted in 2017 pushed a racialised, harmful, anti-Muslim and Islamophobic trope of so-called “Islamisation” – and remains available to purchase in 2022. The backprint of the product depicts a burning mosque with blood splatter in the background. As late as 2017, the company also sold a t-shirt variant of this violently anti-Muslim and Islamophobic product – archives confirm.

Poland is 99.9 per cent Christian, according to the 2011 census. European Union data shows that whilst Poland has no official religion, an overwhelming majority (around 87 per cent) of the population are Roman-Catholic. A wealth of academic research, including on “Islamophobia without Muslims” and how such narratives (in politics and sections of the press) stigmatised and targeted refugees.

A further item for sale included a dog tag that promotes the conspiracy, linking Muslims to ISIS.

Our investigation revealed how the Facebook profile of the clothing brand shared an Islamophobic conspiracy video from 2013 about demographics in a video titled “Who can stop Islam?”.

A year earlier, the Facebook page shared a racist and homophobic meme about throwing such minoritised groups off a plane in alphabetical order to prevent a fictitious plane from crashing.

That same year, the company promoted the white supremacist slogan “anti-Antifa” as a marketing tool on Facebook on multiple occasions.

During our investigation, the local resident who contacted us, to begin with, made further contact. In correspondence with Tell MAMA,  they stated that the sticker had its URL link scratched off before someone had removed it, attaching photographic proof dated January 31.

Wanting to remain anonymous, they expressed gratitude at however removed it, adding that, for its multiculturalism, it remained of concern that individuals with racist, far-right agendas felt emboldened to spread hate and propaganda in the area.

You can get advice from our confidential and free helpline on 0800 456 1226. Or through our free iOS or Android apps. Report through our online form. Or message us on WhatsApp on 0734 184 6086 or message us on Twitter or Facebook by following @tellmamauk.

 

 

 

 

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Categories: conspiracy theories, Islamisation, News, Waltham Forest, Walthamstow

National Action: man accused of belonging to banned neo-Nazi terror group

February 8, 2022 Article

A 35-year-old man will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court next week (February 14) accused of belonging to the banned neo-Nazi terror group National Action.

News of the arrest (made in November last year) and subsequent bail emerged when news of the charges broke today (February 7).

David Mullens, of north London, was charged on February 4, with one count of membership of a proscribed organisation – National Action (contrary to Section 11 of the Terrorism Act 2000).

The alleged membership of National Action occurred between December 2016 and August 2017.

National Action became the first neo-Nazi group proscribed as a terrorist group in the UK in December 2016.

 

 

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Categories: Far Right groups, Metropolitan Police, National Action, News, terrorism

JAILED: Neo-Nazi terror teen hid bomb-making docs in Minecraft guides

February 7, 2022 Article

A neo-Nazi terrorist who disguised bomb-making documents as weapons guide for the popular video game Minecraft was jailed for three-and-a-half years at Woolwich Crown Court last Friday (February 4).

Nineteen-year-old Connor Burke, a university student from Bexleyheath in southeast London, had shared the materials on a far-right Telegram channel that boasted over 12,000 users.

Burke also possessed a copy of the banned Anarchist Cookbook, and, following an earlier court appearance last year, the prosecution outlined how the neo-Nazi teen had other bomb-making documents disguised as Minecraft-related texts, with titles like “Minecraft Kitchen Cookbook”. Other terroristic content included the “Minecraft Homemade TNT.pdf” file.

On that notable Telegram channel, Burke made racist statements about other university students, including the use of the P-word, the Evening Standard reported.

Burke also pleaded guilty to four counts of possession of a document likely to be helpful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.

When police raided the home address of Burke last year, officers uncovered various regalia (including knives, rings, uniforms) from Nazi Germany and a copy of Hitler’s Mein Kampf.

Following charges in March of last year, Burke pleaded guilty in July but argued the distribution of the bomb-making materials online owed instead to sheer “recklessness”.

The prosecution contested this claim with a Newton hearing in December 2021. According to the Crown Prosecution Service, a Newton hearing occurs “if the defence, in mitigation, depart from the facts as opened by the prosecution in a manner which is material to the central issue” and if such a departure is significant enough (and if deemed acceptable) will impact the sentencing.

The judge rejected the claim of recklessness, concluding that Burke wilfully posted the materials knowing that other members of the group may use such documents – to assist in the preparation or assistance of far-right terrorism.

Commander Richard Smith, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “Burke had an unhealthy interest in extreme right wing terrorist ideology, and this led to him sharing extremely dangerous material with others online.

“Increasingly, we’re seeing young people being drawn into extremist ideologies, some of whom – like Burke – then go on to commit serious terrorism offences.”

According to the defence, the parents of Connor Burke believed their son went down an online “rabbit hole” during lockdown – a very dark rabbit hole.

After leaving prison, Burke will spend a further twelve months on licence.

 

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Categories: Far Right groups, MET Police, Nazi, Neo-Nazi, News, Telegram, terrorism

Far-right terror trial: Cardiff teen charged with multiple offences

February 4, 2022 Article

A teenager from the Whitchurch area of the Welsh capital appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court in London yesterday (Thursday), charged with terrorism offences – including alleged membership of a proscribed neo-Nazi group.

According to WalesOnline, nineteen-year-old Luca Benincasa, arrested by counter-terror police on Tuesday, also gave officers two addresses – Carisbrooke Way and The Philog.

The alleged membership of the neo-Nazi terror group in question concerns the Feuerkrieg Division – proscribed by the Home Office in July 2020.

Further charges against Benincasa concern four counts of alleged possession of information likely to be helpful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.

Benincasa spoke in court yesterday to confirm his age, address, and date of birth.

Mark Pope, Detective Chief Inspector of the Wales Extremism and Counter-Terrorism Unit, said: “At no point was there any danger to the public.” Adding, “We work in close partnership with the public to ensure that we can intervene as early as possible to prevent those vulnerable to radicalisation.”

The judge remanded Benincasa in custody, and he will appear at the Old Baily on February 14.

 

 

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Categories: Far Right groups, Neo-Nazi, News, terrorism

How Nazi Ben John went from having to ‘read classic lit’ to prison for terror offence

January 21, 2022 Article

Neo-Nazi extremist and convicted terrorist Ben John, 22, received an immediate custodial sentence after the Court of Appeal quashed the original suspended prison sentence – which included John reading literary classics from white authors like William Shakespeare and Jane Austen.

Lord Justice Holroyde ruled the original conviction was unlawful – as per the Sentencing Code, a prison sentence above two years is above the threshold for a suspended sentence – as John’s original sentence stood at three years.

The Sentencing Code came into effect on December 1, 2020, in England and Wales and consolidated existing sentencing procedural laws into a singular Sentencing Act. When dealing with adults above the age of 21, section 277 of the Act clarifies that a suspended sentence does not exceed two years or various aggregate sentences go above the two-year threshold.

John will be one extended licence for one year after leaving prison.

Lord Justice Holroyde said: “We are satisfied that there must be a sentence of immediate imprisonment.”

The Solicitor General Alex Chalk QC MP personally presented the case at the Court of Appeal, who referred to the case to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme. Tell MAMA was one of the various organisations that raised concerns about the lenient nature of the original sentencing. Assistant Chief Constable at Lincolnshire Police, Kerrin Wilson, thanked the “tenacity” of those “challenging the first sentence so that we continue to protect our communities.”

John, who appeared via video link, had to surrender to Lincolnshire Police by 4 pm yesterday (January 20).

The terrorism offence he was jailed for concerned possessing the Anarchist’s Cookbook – an act of terrorism under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act.

Lincolnshire Police uncovered various white supremacist and neo-Nazi materials at their home address – including a video of Adolf Hitler, white supremacist hate music, and a poster of the proscribed terror group National Action.

The 2020 trial revealed that John possessed 67,788 documents on various hard drives, including racist materials about Jewish people broader white supremacist materials.

Last year, Judge Timothy Spencer QC told John: “Have you read Dickens? Austen? Start with Pride and Prejudice and Dickens’s A Tale Of Two Cities. Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Think about Hardy. Think about Trollope.”

The judge’s challenge was to engage with the above texts as a condition of avoiding prison, but did he? Harry Shukman of Scout tracked John down a month before his return to court, where he admitted to the journalist that he had read none of the books, despite now owning copies.

At the review hearing in early January, Ben John stated: “I enjoyed Shakespeare more than I did Jane Austen, but I still enjoyed Jane Austen by a degree,” with the judge at Leicester Crown Court described being “encouraged about what you have written out for me.”

However, at the High Court, Alex Chalk QC MP detailed that John had positively engaged with neo-Nazi materials within days of avoiding prison last year.

In a press release published on the GOV.uk website, the Solicitor General Alex Chalk QC MP said: The Government is committed to confronting terrorism in all its forms, including from the Extreme Right Wing. We remain focussed on disrupting the activities of the most dangerous extremists, supporting those who stand up to their hateful rhetoric, and protecting vulnerable people being drawn into terrorism.

I referred Ben John’s sentence to the Court of Appeal, and chose to personally present it, because I believed it to be unduly lenient. I am pleased that the Court of Appeal agreed and chose to increase his sentence today.”

Detective Inspector James Manning,  of the Counter-Terrorism Policing East Midlands (CTP EM), who led the investigation in partnership with regional and national agencies, said: “This was a long and complex investigation and I welcome the court’s decision today to impose a stricter sentence on Ben John, sending a clear message to anyone with similar ideologies that they will be dealt with as strongly as possible,” adding, “Ben John is a convicted Right Wing Extremist who was in possession of a document which in the wrong hands could cause incalculable damage.”

The Court of Appeal judges took just over two hours to quash the original verdict and impose the prison sentence.

 

 

 

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Categories: Attorney General, Ben John, Lincolnshire Police, Neo-Nazi, News

Far-right terror teen who wanted to attack mosque avoids prison

January 7, 2022 Article

A far-right terrorist who wanted to indiscriminately murder Muslims at a mosque and kill “10,000 people” avoided a prison sentence, receiving a 24-month youth rehabilitation order instead.

The 17-year-old from Wiltshire, who maintains legal anonymity due to their age, was given the sentence at Southampton Youth Court.

The sentence mirrors that given to a neo-Nazi terrorist, who came to the attention of authorities aged just thirteen before receiving their rehabilitation order in February 2021.

He pleaded guilty to possessing material likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.

The investigation began when the public contacted the authorities following a slew of racist comments on online message boards – including a desire to murder Muslims with a gun at a mosque, a chilling reminder of the lingering influence of the white supremacist terrorist who murdered 51 Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand in March 2019.

On June 18, 2021, an arrest resulted in police finding a handwritten note at their home address called “The Big Plan”.

A spokesperson for Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE) revealed that in contained information and “details of how to make a bomb,” identifiable locations and individuals they believed to be “aspirational targets” amidst an intention to kill over 10,000 people.

Detective Chief Superintendent Kath Barnes, who leads the CTPSE, thanked those who reported the individual to the anti-terrorism hotline. In a statement, she said: “Having read the vile racist abuse online, they chose to ACT; they contacted the Anti-Terrorism Hotline and shared their concerns with us, and as a result, we were able to intervene before the situation escalated any further.”

CTPSE have also documented “an increase in the proportion of our investigations from the threat from extreme right-wing terrorism.”

Deb Smith, Wiltshire Police’s Assistant Chief Constable, said: “I hope that our communities feel reassured that we acted swiftly, in conjunction with our partners, to ensure that this individual was detained and could no longer pose a risk to the wider public.”

Tell MAMA will be raising our concerns about the lenient nature of the sentencing with the relevant authorities.

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Categories: Christchurch, Far Right groups, mosque, News, terrorism, Wiltshire

Neo-Nazi Sam Imrie, guilty of terrorism offences, faces lengthy prison sentence

October 28, 2021 Article

Sam Imrie, the 24-year-old neo-Nazi, convicted of terrorism charges, including threats to burn down Fife Islamic Centre, was told to anticipate a “sentence of some length” when they return to Glasgow Crown Court next month.

The two-week trial concluded with the jury finding Imrie guilty of eight of the nine charges brought against him, including two breaches of the Terrorism Act, wilful fire-raising, drink-driving, and possession of child abuse images and violent, necrophilic pornography.

Imrie was found not guilty of preparing an act of terrorism, despite amassing a collection of weapons (two knives, nunchucks, an axe, a hammer, and a rifle scope) and filming, in a chilling evocation to the white supremacist terrorist who murdered 51 Muslims in Christchurch, had filmed his intent to live stream an arson attack on the Islamic centre.

He instead wilfully set fire to the doorway of an empty building and set fire to the foliage around a headstone located within St Drostans Cemetery in Markinch, on July 4, 2019, which they unsuccessfully attempted to pass off as the Islamic centre on the fascist Telegram page. When questioned, fellow Telegram group members expressed scepticism, with statements like “Looks like an abandoned building,” Imrie replied, “That’s the Islamic Centre next to the woods, r****d. I’m going to jail.” Imrie had also uploaded the video along posting various white supremacist materials to that Telegram page. For example, he wrote: “No guns. All I can do is burn them down.” He also wrote: “I will stream. Death to the Invaders!”.

Of the terrorism-related charges, the jury found Imrie guilty of glorifying the white supremacist terrorist responsible for the murder of 51 Muslims in Christchurch in March 2019 and Anders Breivik, the white supremacist terrorist who murdered 77 people in Norway in 2011, on Facebook and Telegram. The second charge concerned how he maintained a “record of information” helpful to somebody committing acts of terrorism – including possession of the individual screeds authored by both terrorists.

The 24-year-old did, however, approach the Islamic centre, as CCTV captured Imrie filming its exterior on his phone and uploaded a photo to the group with a racist caption that read: “Animals have their windows barred like a zoo.”

Imrie would boast online that “All my heroes are mass murderers.” In court, he admitted to regularly consuming far-right and neo-Nazi propaganda, collecting a dizzying amount of racist hate materials on their computer (ten-thousand images, according to news reports), including Holocaust denial. On Snapchat, he used the username “racewarplz”, and his computer password contained the N-word.  On Facebook, Imrie’s cover photo was of Adolf Hitler, with their biographical details having read “Seeing Muslims suffer,” with other neo-Nazi propaganda including 14/88 appearing on their profile. He considered Trump a “God”.

Before the age of sixteen, Sam Imrie appeared at Kirkcaldy police station after being caught writing “F*** Muslims” on a bus shelter, his mother Joyce revealed when giving evidence to the court.

When Police Scotland raided Imrie’s home after a tip-off from the Met Police in London (who had infiltrated the now-removed Telegram page @fashwaveartists), they recovered an iPhone which included a copy of the Christchurch terror attack live stream, which Imrie admitted to watching several times, along with propaganda images declaring the terrorist a “saint” who “did nothing wrong”.

He described an obsession with the white supremacist imageboard 8chan and how he became “red-pilled”. In contrast to “black pill” nihilism, academics argue, which deems it “impossible” to escape the social hierarchies, proponents of which claim face exclusion from the “blue pill/red pill” proponents who seek advantage from “knowing” how society “really works” to escape their difficulties.

Imrie also boasted of writing to Breivik.

We heard further examples of Imrie’s racist beliefs towards Jewish communities during the trial, where he expressed antisemitic canards of disproportionate societal influence and referred to the video-sharing platform YouTube as “JewTube”.

On Telegram, they wrote: “The SNP Party wants millions of Muslims to come in so obviously I want Sturgeon to die.”

Imrie denied all charges against him and argued that his neo-Nazi beliefs were unserious forms of humour, born from his health issues.

Police Scotland welcomed the verdict.

With the trial concluded, various news media headlines draw further attention to the inconsistencies in how far-right terrorism is framed, with some headlines avoiding the term only to use it in the body of the article. Examples included headlines like “Fife terror accused revered right wing mass murderers, trial told,” and “Scots white nationalist who idolised mass killers and spouted race hate convicted of terror offences,” to “Chilling video of Scot convicted of terror offences using bagpipe music to copycat Christchurch mosques mass killer” and “Man who ‘idolised mass murderers’ convicted of terrorism offences“.

In another egregious example, but from the body of a news article, a BBC article referred to the far-right terrorist who murdered 51 Muslims in Christchurch as a “far right activist” who “slaughtered Muslims praying at their mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March 2019.”

Lord Mulholland remanded Imrie in custody and said: “Be under no illusion – you have been convicted of very serious offences including gathering information about terrorism and encouraging terrorism, child pornography and extreme pornography.”

Lord Mullholand also placed Imrie on the Sex Offenders’ Register.

We welcome the guilty verdict and hope a stringent and lengthy sentence reflects the harm caused to Muslim communities, given that Sam Imrie is an ideologically-driven racist and neo-Nazi who was guilty of terrorism offences. The personal safety of Muslims and the safety of all Islamic institutions across Scotland and, indeed, the United Kingdom is vital. The threat of far-right terrorism is a threat to Muslims and other minoritised communities, and we thank the diligent work of the police and the courts in a successful prosecution of a complex case.

 

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Categories: Christchurch, Far Right groups, Neo-Nazi, News, Police Scotland, Scotland, terrorism

Satanic teenager jailed for life for murdering sisters

October 28, 2021 Article

A teenager has been jailed for at least 35 years for murdering two sisters as part of a Satanic blood pact.

Danyal Hussein, 19, savagely stabbed Bibaa Henry, 46, and Nicole Smallman, 27, to death in a Wembley park in June last year.

The Old Bailey heard he had embarked on a “campaign of vengeance” against random women in a failed bid to win the Mega Millions Super Jackpot lottery prize of £321 million.

Police tracked him down through DNA and uncovered a handwritten pledge to a demonic entity called King Lucifuge Rofocale to kill six women every six months, which was signed in blood.

Hussein declined to give evidence in his trial, claiming he was not responsible for the killings or for writing the pact.

He was found guilty of two counts of murder and possession of a knife.

Following Hussein’s conviction in July, the sisters’ mother, the Venerable Mina Smallman, said she had “never come across such evil”.

On Thursday, Hussein appeared in court by video link from Belmarsh top security jail for “Covid reasons” while the sisters’ family sat in court.

Mrs Justice Whipple sentenced Hussein to life in prison with a minimum term of 35 years.

She told Hussein: “In the early hours of Saturday June 6 2020 you brutally murdered Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry.

“You had found these two women. You were a stranger to them. You surprised them, you terrified them and you killed them.”

She said Hussein had dragged the bodies away and posed them in an embrace to “defile” them in death.

The judge said the lives of his victims’ loved ones had been “shattered”.

She referred to a victim impact statement by the sisters’ mother who described being “haunted” by the knowledge of how her children suffered.

On the pact with the devil, the judge said: “I am sure you performed these murders as part of that bargain for wealth and power.”

As “bizarre” as the pact seemed, it was part of his belief system, she added.

She told Hussein: “You committed these vicious attacks. You did it to kill. You did it for money and a misguided pursuit of power.”

The defendant sat facing away from the court as he was sentenced.

Earlier, prosecutor Oliver Glasgow QC ruled out a whole life order for Hussein because of his age.

Mr Glasgow said there were “significant” aggravating features, included taking a knife to the scene and destruction of evidence.

He said: “His offending is a product of his belief in Satanism and his belief you could enter into a bargain with a devil.

“That belief system is something he researched for some time.”

In preparation for the killing, Hussein bought knives from Asda and a black balaclava on Amazon and signed up to a lottery betting website.

In the early hours of June 6 last year, he stalked his victims as they celebrated Ms Henry’s birthday in Fryent Country Park in Wembley, north London.

Hussein stabbed Ms Henry eight times, before he slashed Ms Smallman 28 times as she bravely fought back.

He then dragged them into bushes where they lay undiscovered for 36 hours.

During the savage attack, Hussein cut his right hand with the 12cm knife, which he dropped in the grass.

Over the next 10 days, Hussein spent £162.88 on lottery tickets and bets – all without success.

On the evening of June 6, the sisters’ worried loved ones reported them missing, but officers were not deployed to the park until the next day.

Before they arrived, Ms Smallman’s frantic boyfriend Adam Stone, who could not believe she would have left their pet bearded dragon unattended, found the bodies.

Officers then carried out a painstaking search and identified the DNA of an unknown male from blood on the knife, bodies and surrounding scene.

On June 30 last year, in a major breakthrough, a DNA familial link was made to Hussein’s father, who had a past caution.

Within an hour-and-a-half, Hussein was identified on CCTV buying knives in Asda and returning home after the murders.

Searches of his bedroom in south-east London uncovered a book of spells, handwritten demon symbols and two blood pacts.

Jurors were not told of the extent of Hussein’s obsession with demons, spells and potions.

He had come to the attention of police aged just 15 over fears he was vulnerable to radicalisation and violent extremism.

Before the killings, Hussein communicated with others about demons and love potions, and carried out online research about the far-right and Norse mythology.

It is believed he was influenced by the work of an American black magician who has links with a British-based Nazi Satanist group known as the Order of Nine Angles.

Last week, Facebook removed his page and Instagram account and YouTube launched a review.

Two police constables have been charged with misconduct in public office after allegedly sharing pictures of the crime scene on WhatsApp, and are due to enter pleas on November 2.

Separately, the Independent Office of Police Complaints concluded its investigation over the response to the initial missing persons reports.

On Monday, the police watchdog found the level of service provided by the Met over the weekend when the sisters went missing was “below the standard that it should have been”.

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Categories: Bibaa Henry, Danyal Hussein, News, Nicole Smallman, Norse mythology, Order of Nine Angles

Analysis: Why Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson) lost the libel case

July 22, 2021 Article

Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson), the noted far-right agitator, extremist, and founder of the far-right English Defence League (EDL), has lost a libel case against him brought forward by the Syrian teenager Jamal Hijazi.

A video of an assault on Jamal Hijazi in the playground of Almondbury Community School in Huddersfield in October 2018 went viral.

Before Facebook’s long-overdue ban, Yaxley-Lennon posted two videos, “not innocent and he violently attacks young English girls in his school”, attracting almost one million views and twenty-four-thousand shares.

What Yaxley-Lennon said in those videos, including the fabrications that Jamal had “beat a girl black and blue” and “threatened to stab” another boy at the school, were the subject of the libel claims.

However, the judgment from Mr Justice Nicklin made clear that Yaxley-Lennon’s evidence “had fallen woefully short” and granted Jamal £100,000 in damages.

Yaxley Lennon’s choice of language in both videos, the judgment states, were a calculated effort to “inflame the situation” and portray Jamal as the perpetrator. Moreover, as the judgment clarifies, Yaxley-Lennon persisted with the allegations, even adding to them during the proceedings.

Jamal soon became the target of abuse and threats, leading to his family leaving their home and Jamal abandoning his education at a critical juncture. Yaxley-Lennon, the judge said, “is responsible for this harm, some of the scars of which, particularly the impact on the Claimant’s education, are likely last for many years, if not a lifetime.”

Catrin Evans QC, representing Jamal, had described how the comments had resulted in “death threats and extremist agitation” and, therefore, damages should total between £150,000 and £190,000.

Evans characterised Yaxley-Lennon as “a well-known extreme-right advocate” with an “anti-Muslim agenda” who used social media to spread his views.

Jamal described how some bullying referenced the EDL and the far-right. “I remember them saying: ‘The EDL’s talking about you.’ At the time when these incidents happened at school, I did not know what the EDL was, and I did not know what they were referring to when they talked about it,” he said.

Bailey McLaren, filmed pushing Jamal to the ground, denied being a racist or bully in evidence, adding that he had mixed-race sisters, lived in a mixed-race community, and had friends who were Black and Asian. However, records highlighted in the judgment show that staff at Almondbury School had concerns about his support for the EDL, including making a Prevent referral on November 28, 2018. Further questioning revealed from Evans QC that Bailey had stayed in a “safe house” owned by Yaxley-Lennon for four months.

On balance, the judge said, “I consider that the claim to have been told that the Claimant had threatened to stab him – by “Ahmed” or anyone else – was manufactured by Bailey.” Furthermore, he added that Bailey was also a victim and punished for his bullying, which he concluded was not racist in nature, and like Jamal also had to move homes. Mr Justice Nicklin said: “Both were schoolboys when they were catapulted into the maelstrom of a media storm. Neither was remotely equipped to deal with what then happened.” And concluded, “Bailey may yet come to reflect on whether he has actually been helped by the Defendant.”

On other allegations, including the alleged use of a hockey stick, one child identified in the judgment as OTP (to protect their identity) amounted to a “dishonest fabrication that fell apart when he was cross-examined on the details.” Evidence from Charly Matthews (who claimed that Jamal had hit her in the back with a hockey stick resulting in long-term injuries, which she could not prove medically) was also satisfactorily proven false in the eyes of Mr Justice Nicklin.

The judgment also drew attention to Yaxley-Lennon’s use of covert recordings in his evidence submissions. In one such example, the judge declined to name the former teacher, who, before speaking with Yaxley-Lennon, informed him that he was in no position to comment on the matter and it would, therefore, be “highly unlikely” that he would knowingly consent to record such an interview.  Having reviewed, the judge said that it is “quite apparent from the recordings that none of the individuals [including EYW’s mother and MVW] was aware that s/he was being recorded.”

Moreover, the judgment states that Yaxley-Lennon appeared to wear a concealed microphone and camera on the two occasions he attempted to speak with EYW’s mother over the alleged assault, and crucially, such footage had been edited, and therefore, Yaxley-Lennon had failed to substantiate that the group attack had occurred. Nor could the judge give weight to the evidence submitted “in respect of allegations that she has publicly disavowed.” Indeed, one of the answers provided by EYW’s mother in the second interview drips in ambiguity as Yaxley-Lennon combines two leading questions (“Was he there? Was he involved?”)  as their response of “Yeah” gives no clarity to which questions they are addressing.

Francesca Flood from Burlingtons Legal, representing Jamal, said in a statement: “Jamal and his family now wish to put this matter behind them in order that they can get on with their lives.

“They do however wish to extend their gratitude to the Great British public for their support and generosity, without which this legal action would not have been possible.”

A subsequent hearing will follow this judgment to consider the consequences of the ruling, as Mr Justice Nicklin granted Jamal an injunction that prevents Yaxley-Lennon from repeating the allegations.

The search for Yaxley-Lennon’s assets made headlines earlier this year following his bankruptcy declaration on March 2, 2021, and he subsequently represented himself in court.

Mr Justice Nicklin acknowledged that, due to the bankruptcy, “there are limits on what can be enforced against him” but stressed that Yaxley-Lennon must cover Jamal’s legal costs.

As pointed out by the BBC’s Dominic Casciani, total costs may go upwards of £500,000.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Categories: Far Right groups, News, Stephen Yaxley Lennon, Tommy Robinson