A protester who made racist remarks to a police officer and spat at another during last month's EDL and anti-fascist protests in Cambridge pleaded guilty yesterday.

Roy May, 56, of Elmfield Road, Cambridge, urinated outside a house in Emmanuel Street on February 23 when street closures for the protest were taking place. Pc Singh confronted May about what he was doing and received a torrent of racial abuse, city magistrates were told.

Delia Matthews, prosecuting, said: "He was swearing and his words were slurred because he was drunk." May then spat at police officers, catching Pc Helen Greenfield on the cheek.

May will appear in court again on March 18 for sentencing.

Cambridge News, 12 March 2013

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A financial adviser who aimed grossly offensive tweets at Muslims and Pakistanis was told he had "thinking deficiencies and old racist views".

Ricky Lee Davies of St Thomas, Swansea, committed the Twitter offence after watching a television documentary about Muslim extremism.

Prosecutor Jonathan Coombs said Davies, who pleaded guilty to a charge under the 2003 Communications Act, told police he had wanted to get a reaction. Mr Coombs said: "He accepted his friends from ethnic minorities would not be too pleased, but that it was a bit of banter." He said the messages concerned "would seem to be directed primarily at the Muslim community and Pakistani nationality".

Defending, Dan Heard said his client had used extreme language but argued that its effect on recipients was minimal. People who responded to the tweets, he said, "referred to him as 'silly boy' and things of that nature". He said the 20-year-old had no particular issue with any religion or race, and that his tweets had been in regard to extremism, terrorism and poppy-burning.

He said: "What he has tried – but monumentally failed – to do is to enter into a debate. He used ill-advised language and failed to articulate what might otherwise have been a proper debate. And that has effectively reduced itself to name-calling."

Wales Probation officer Sharon Griffiths said Davies had let his anger get the better of him following the documentary. "He has made a concerted effort to increase his knowledge about other cultures," she said.

Swansea Magistrates' Court heard that Davies had a previous conviction when, as a juvenile, he referred to a man with a turban and beard outside Sainsbury's as "bin Laden" during an altercation.

The defendant, of St Leger Crescent, was yesterday handed an eight-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, with a supervision requirement for 12 months. He was also told to do 150 hours of unpaid work and pay £85 costs.

Chairwoman of the bench Chantal Patel said: "You clearly have thinking deficiencies and old racist views."

South Wales Evening Post, 29 January 2013

As we have previously pointed out, Davies tweeted his enthusiastic support for the English Defence League and its leader Stephen Lennon, who he described as a "hero".

The selection of vicious hate-filled comments that we identified from a quick trawl through Davies' Twitter account demonstrates that the defence's claim that he "had no particular issue with any religion or race" and his tweets "had been in regard to extremism, terrorism and poppy-burning" was an outright lie.

Davies expressed his relief at escaping a prison sentence in the following tweet:

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Brighton Organisations and Leading Figures Launch Unity Statement Ahead of Far Right March

People of Brighton should show unity against a racist march according to leading local politicians, unions and other individuals and group who are supporting a Unity Statement, that is now online for members of the public to sign.

Supporters include Brighton Trades Council, the Brighton University branch of the UCU union, Brighton and Hove NUT,  University of Sussex Students Union, Brighton Unite Against Fascism, Brighton Love Music Hate Racism, and Sussex Labour Representation Committee. Individuals who are supporting it include Caroline Lucas MP, and ten Green and Labour members of the council; as well as Simon Burgess, the former Labour leader of the council, James Ledward, the editor of Gscene magazine and Itch, the lead singer of the band King Blues, who is a Brighton Resident.

The March for England march, organised by members and supporters of the racist organisation the English Defence League, has met growing opposition when it has attempted to parade through Brighton in the past few years. It has stated it will return in April 2013.

The march's opponents are now calling on residents of the city to add their support for the statement which concludes by saying: "In Brighton we all stand together. And when someone tries to threaten our community we must stand together even more firmly."

The full statement can be read at brightonuaf.org, where there is also a link to sign it.

Roland Ravenhill of Brighton Love Music Hate Racism said: "The diversity and unity of Brighton is something worth supporting, and racist marches do not sit well here. We encourage people to read and sign the statement."

Full statement and list of supporters:

Brighton is a brilliant and vibrant city where many people of different cultures, backgrounds, abilities and faiths come together. It has a positive and unique character which its residents enjoy and embrace. Brighton people live here in the knowledge that they will be valued and that the things which make each individual different are celebrated here - not despised. We take great pleasure and pride in being surrounded by humanity in all its exciting diversity.

Because of this it is very saddening to discover that the far right group March for England, which is a division of the violent and racist organisation the English Defence League, is to march in Brighton (in April 2013).

When groups like this come to Brighton it is because our multicultural city in all its diversity proves that their own doctrine of hate is wrong, and they want to damage our unity. That is why we stand together: black, white and Asian; people of all faiths and of no faith; trade unionists; people of different political persuasions; University, school and college students; people of all abilities; whatever our sexuality.

In Brighton we all stand together. And when someone tries to threaten our community we must stand together even more firmly.

Supported by:

Brighton Trades Council 
Brighton and Hove Unite Against Fascism 
UCU – Brighton University
Brighton and Hove NUT.
University of Sussex Students Union 
Sussex Labour Representation Committee. 
Brighton Love Music Hate Racism
Caroline Lucas, Green MP Brighton Pavillion
Itch – King Blues 
James Ledward – editor Gscene
Jason Kitkat, Green Party Councillor, Leader of Brighton & Hove City Council 
Ollie Sykes, Green Party Councillor, Brunswick and Adelaide Ward 
Les Hamilton, Labour & Co-operative Councillor, South Portslade 
Liz Wakefield, Green Party Councillor, Hanover & Elm Grove 
Pete West, Green City Councillor for St Peter's & North Laine Ward 
Warren Morgan, Labour & Co-operative Councillor for East Brighton 
Phélim Mac Cafferty, Green Party Councillor for Brunswick and Adelaide 
Alexandra Phillips, Green Councillor for Goldsmid ward, Hove
Rob Jarrett, Green Party Councillor for Goldsmid ward
Ian Davey, Green Party councillor for St Peter's & North Laine ward
Simon Burgess, Labour, former leader, Brighton and Hove council.

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Two women have been charged after graffiti was sprayed near a mosque in Woking.

The two 19-year-olds, from Woking and Addlestone, are accused of five counts of racially aggravated criminal damage and four offences of criminal damage.

It follows incidents last November when graffiti was sprayed in a shop, on a wall outside the Shah Jehan Mosque and outside residential properties.

Surrey Police said the pair were due to appear before magistrates in February.

BBC News, 26 January 2013

See also "Two charged with racially aggravated criminal damage", Surrey Police news report, 25 January 2013

Via ENGAGE

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Jak Beasley, Dean Spence and Christopher CaswellThree men linked to a right-wing pressure group have had their convictions quashed for racially aggravated public disorder. The trio's fines were also slashed for behaviour described by a Teesside judge as obnoxious, unnerving, disgraceful, drunken, anti-social and inconsiderate.

They were among six men, all associated with the English Defence League (EDL), convicted by Teesside magistrates of racially or religiously aggravated disorder last August. It was alleged the men sang a highly inflammatory religious chant at Middlesbrough railway station.

Jak Beasley, 23, Christopher Caswell, 32, and Dean Spence, 23, appealed against the conviction at Teesside Crown Court yesterday. This appeal was not opposed by the prosecution as a crucial witness had since emigrated to New Zealand.

The men accepted they committed a lesser disorder offence without the racial element, and appealed against fines imposed by magistrates.

Prosecutor Tamara Pawson said the group of men, including the three, were seen to be drunk, loud, swearing, abusive and singing EDL chants on the platform. She said they were verbally aggressive to a British Transport Police officer, accusing him of being "anti-British".

CCTV showed members of the group clapping, putting hands in the air and taking pictures with phones during the incident on the evening of December 10, 2011. The men had visited several pubs after coming to Middlesbrough to watch football.

Lewis Kerr, defending, said: "This was a relatively brief, although unpleasant, incident. The three men in the dock were not so heavily involved." He said fines and costs should be reduced to reflect incomes and debts of labourers Beasley and Spence and self-employed roofer Caswell.

Judge John Walford, sitting with two justices, said the men should be ashamed of their behaviour and he hoped they'd learned their lesson.

Beasley, of Cedar Road, Bishop Auckland; Caswell, of West Auckland Road, Darlington; and Spence, of Yew Close, Spennymoor, each had their £455 fines reduced to £185, £515 costs reduced to £250.

Evening Gazette, 25 January 2013

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Police are investigating a racist message which was stuck to the front door of a mosque in Horsham.

On Friday January 18 a notice was found on the front of Madina Mosque in Park Terrace East, Horsham, which included racist language.

It is believed that the notice was placed on the mosque between 7pm on 17 January and 7am on 18 January. The incident was reported to Sussex Police on Monday 21 January and is being investigated as a hate crime.

Chief inspector Howard Hodges, district commander of Horsham, said: "Sussex Police takes incidents of this nature very seriously and a thorough investigation to identify those responsible for the notice is taking place. Hate crime is not acceptable and the deplorable actions and views of this minority are thankfully not shared among the community."

He continued: "Hate crimes and hate incidents are hurtful and can be very threatening; they can be confusing and frightening and create a lot of worry. We are working closely with the local community, including users of the mosque, our partners and other residents in the town, to gather information about this incident and offer reassurance and support to those who may have been affected by this incident.

"Hate crimes are any crimes that are targeted at a person because of hostility or prejudice towards that person's disability, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation or transgender identity. Whether you experience hate crime against yourself or your property it is important to always report it."

Anyone with information regarding this incident which may assist police with their enquiries, or anyone concerned about this incident, is asked to contact Sussex Police on 101 quoting serial 396 of 21/1 or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Sussex Police news report, 22 January 2013

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A teenager pulled a hijab from a woman's head in a racist attack on her in a park. Paige Bain and her aunt Eileen Kennedy assaulted Umaimi Musa as she was sitting with her friend Mary Marandran in Glasgow.

On Monday, Glasgow Sheriff Court heard 16-year-old Bain also attacked Mrs Marandran, who was five months pregnant at the time of the incident in the city's Royston Road.

As Ms Musa and Mrs Marandran were sitting in the park, one of Bain or Kennedy, 28, uttered racist phrases towards them, including "f****** black African" and "f****** brings you to this country?"

The incident was captured on CCTV which was shown to the court, while the camera operator alerted police to the attack on September 3, 2012.

Sheriff Kenneth Mitchell sentenced Bain to two years and eight months in detention, while Kennedy was earlier jailed for two years and six days.

Bain, who was 15 at the time of the attack, and Kennedy pled guilty to racially assaulting 41-year-old Ms Musa to her injury. Kennedy also admitted resisting arrest and claiming she had an infection before spitting on a police officer. Bain pled guilty to the racially aggravated assault on Mrs Marandran, 40, by repeatedly punching her on the head and pushing her to her injury.

STV, 21 January 2013

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A woman who launched a racist attack against a Muslim and pulled her hijab from her head as she robbed her of her phone has been jailed for more than two years.

Eileen Kennedy, 28, and her 16-year-old niece Paige Bain assaulted Umaimi Musa in Glasgow in September.
 The teenager also assaulted Ms Musa's friend, Mary Marandran, who was five months pregnant with her third child.

The victims were sitting in a playpark when they heard one of the accused make racist comments before they were attacked. The incident was captured on CCTV and the camera operator alerted the police as the incident happened.

Passing a sentence of two years and six days on Kennedy yesterday, Sheriff Kenneth Mitchell told her: "There is no place at all in a modern Scotland for this sort of behaviour. This is a very serious matter. Your conduct was wholly unacceptable, and conduct of this sort can only result in a custodial sentence. You joined in a sustained attack upon this lady and robbed her of her mobile phone."

Social work reports had been requested by the sheriff before passing sentence, but Bain's was not ready. She will return to be sentenced next month.

Kennedy and her niece pled guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to racially assaulting 41-year-old Ms Musa to her injury. Kennedy also pled guilty to resisting arrest and claiming she had an infection before spitting on a police officer. Bain admitted the racially aggravated assault on Mrs Marandran, 40, by repeatedly punching her on the head and pushing her to her injury.

The Scotsman, 1 January 2013

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A Swedish lawmaker once seen as a future leader of the anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats party announced Sunday he was quitting parliament and the party after a racist scandal.

Erik Almqvist, 31, was one of three party officials caught on film hurling racist abuse at two men, arming themselves with iron bars after a heated argument outside a fast-food restaurant, and calling a woman who tried to intervene a little "whore".

"No, this is not your country, it's my country," Almqvist is seen telling one of the men in the clip.

Almqvist, who had been the party's economic affairs spokesman, stepped down from that position in mid-November when the Expressen newspaper published excerpts of the two-year-old video clip, filmed by the party's justice spokesman Kent Ekeroth on his cell phone.

On Sunday Almqvist said he was leaving the party immediately and would resign from his seat in parliament once it reconvened after the Christmas break. He will be replaced in parliament by Anna Hagwall, 59, the Sweden Democrats said.

"This has been an incredibly difficult and weighty decision for me. I realise that my behaviour that night two-and-a-half years ago has hurt both the party and me as a politician," Almqvist said in a statement on Sunday. "I have decided, after consultation with the party, to resign from both parliament and the party," he said.

Ekeroth meanwhile announced after the film clip emerged in November that he was taking a temporary break from his position as justice spokesman, but he remains a member of parliament.

Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Aakesson recently announced a purge of racist and "extremist" elements in the party.

Recent polls have suggested that the party has been unharmed by the scandal, with its support hovering around 10 percent. The party entered Sweden's parliament in 2010 after winning 5.7 percent of the vote.

AFP, 30 December 2012

Update:  See "'You won't get rid of me': Almqvist", The Local, 31 December 2012

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Two women punched a pregnant woman and pulled her friend's hijab from her head in a racial attack. Eileen Kennedy, 28, and a 15-year-old female, assaulted Umaimi Musa at Royston Road, Glasgow, on September 3. The teenager also assaulted Ms Musa's friend Mary Marandran, then five months pregnant.

As the women were sitting in a park they heard the phrases "f****** black African" and "f****** brings you to this country?" from one of the two accused before they were assaulted.

The incident was captured on CCTV which was shown to the court and the camera operator alerted the police as the incident happened.

Kennedy and her co-accused pled guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Tuesday to racially assaulting 41-year-old Ms Musa to her injury. Kennedy also admitted resisting arrest and claiming she had an infection before spitting on a police officer. The teenager admitted the racially aggravated assault on Mrs Marandran, 40, by repeatedly punching her on the head and pushing her to her injury.

The court heard the racist phrases were the precursor to the assaults.

Procurator fiscal depute Mark Allan, prosecuting, said: "The second named accused repeatedly punched the then pregnant Mrs Marandran on her head and pushed her." He told the court that both accused demanded Ms Musa's mobile phone and tried to grab it off her after she told them she was going to phone the police.

Mr Allan said she was punched on the head which caused her to fall to the ground. He added: "Once on the ground, she was repeatedly punched on her head and body, her hijab or headscarf as she can be seen wearing during the course of this incident was pulled from her head and she was robbed of her mobile telephone. Police officers were directed to the scene by those operating the CCTV."

Both Mrs Marandran and Ms Musa were taken to the Royal Infirmary in Glasgow to be checked. Ms Musa had a bruised left cheek which was tender and swollen, a grazed knee and a sore neck. Mrs Marandran suffered no damage to her unborn baby but had some muscular pain.

Sheriff Kenneth Mitchell deferred sentence on both accused until a later date. Kennedy was remanded in custody and her co-accused remained on bail.

STV, 11 December 2012

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Lord Ashcroft: 'Muslim is a religion not a race'David Cameron's controversial new campaign chief, Lynton Crosby, was in a fresh row last night after a leading Tory peer said his foul-mouthed rant against Muslims could be seen as "racist".

Former Conservative deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft told friends that outspoken Australian Mr Crosby's remark about "f****** Muslims" was a major error of judgment.

"The danger is that other people will see it as racist," Lord Ashcroft was heard to comment at the Spectator magazine parliamentary awards lunch at The Savoy in London. "Some people may assume he means effing Muslims, effing blacks and all effing immigrants and will not appreciate that Muslim is a religion not a race."

Mail on Sunday, 25 November 2012

The Mail also reveals that during Boris Johnson's mayoral election campaign "Mr Crosby reportedly joked: 'Let's put a rag round the battle bus' – referring to a Muslim headscarf."

Thanks to Lord Ashcroft's clarification, those of us who might otherwise be inclined to regard this "joke" as racist too can now see that it is nothing of the sort.

Crosby does have his admirers, though. On-and-off Tory (but currently crossbench) baroness Shreela Flather is quoted by the Mail as saying: "Lynton is right to say it is pointless for the Conservatives to chase Muslim votes. They are all on benefits and all vote Labour."

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To their bewilderment and bitterness, on the morning of Saturday, November 24, Muslim worshippers at Villefontaine in northern Isère discovered racist graffiti on the walls of their mosque.

When they arrived at the mosque for their morning prayer, the Muslim faithful of Villefontaine found that the walls of their religious enclosure were covered with graffiti. The clearly Islamic slogans "Islam out of Europe" and "This is our home" had been written in black spray paint.

The public prosecutor in Vienne has just ordered an inquiry to be opened into criminal damage aggravated by its anti-Muslim character. This was assigned to the police force at Bourgoin-Jallieu.

In parallel, other slogans were discovered on the walls of the Sainte Marie Catholic boarding school, opposite the train station at Verpillière. These similarly involved Celtic crosses, which are often used by far-right movements.

France 3, 24 November 2012

The French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) has issued a statement condemning the attack. Pointing out that this is just the latest in a long list of such attacks that have taken place since the beginning of 2012, the CFCM calls on the government to devote more resources to finding the perpetrators.

AFP reports that on Sunday afternoon some 300 people gathered in front of the Villefontaine mosque to express their support for the Muslim community. They included representatives of other faiths and political leaders. In his speech the rector of the Lyon Mosque, Kamel Kabtane, repeated the call made by the CFCM for a parliamentary inquiry into the rise of anti-Muslim hatred in France.

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A 19-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated criminal damage after abusive words were spray painted in view of a mosque.

Surrey Police said the graffiti was sprayed inside a shop on the Lion Retail Park, Woking, in view of the Shah Jehan Mosque in Oriental Road. The words were sprayed between 19:00 and 20:00 GMT on Monday.

The teenager, from Woking, has been released on bail until 13 December pending further inquiries.

BBC News, 15 November 2012

See also The Missing List, 15 November 2012

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Two teenagers involved in racist chanting at a group of boys at an anti-racism football match in Dagenham have been banned from attending games for three years.

Keith Meredith, of Holgate Road, Dagenham, and Lee Bates, of Seymer Road, Romford, both 18, appeared at Romford Magistrates Court on October 16.

They were among 25 to 30 youths seen and heard shouting abuse at the Tower Hamlets schoolboys during a Daggers Against Racism game with Bradford FC, held in Victoria Road, Dagenham.

The ringleaders of the disorder, which happened on March 3 this year, were ejected from the stadium by police and club security, but only identified through CCTV and arrested later to avoid disrupting the match.

Meredith was found guilty of a racially aggravated section 5 public order act offence and sentenced to a three-year football banning order, £100 fine and ordered to pay £315 in court costs.

Bates, who admitted a section 5 public order act offence, was sentenced to a three year football banning order, £135 fine and ordered to pay £115 in court costs.

On July 29 two boys, aged 16 and 17, pleaded guilty to racially aggravated public order offences. They both received a four-month referral order to a local youth offending scheme and were ordered to pay £75 each in costs. A further 11 people received varying bans direct from the football club following the chants.

Steve Thompson, managing director of Daggers, said: "We welcome the sentences given to Lee Bates and Keith Meredith.

"We aim to provide a club facility that caters for families and gives everyone the opportunity to enjoy the match without the disruption of intolerance or bigotry.

"The club will continue to do everything in its power to take appropriate action against anyone who chooses to be involved in such abuse."

Barking & Dagenham Post, 6 November 2012

See also Metropolitan Police news report, 25 October 2012

You can read an eyewitness account of the abuse to which the Tower Hamlets schoolchildren were subjected here. Racism and threats of violence were accompanied by chants of "E-E-EDL, E-E-EDL".

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Rotherham will unite on Saturday to see off the racist English Defence League, who plan to march through the town. Trade unions, anti-fascists and faith groups came together at a packed public meeting on Monday to plan the town's peaceful counter-protest.

And it is rumoured that Rotherham United will play their Saturday home game on a weekday to head off potential trouble.

The EDL's march route ends 50 yards from a mosque, which locals see as a blatant provocation.

Sheffield PCS rep Martin Hickman said: "The public meeting was packed. The room held 100 people, it was standing room only and they were queuing outside." He said the "very mixed audience" included people from the town's Asian community and local unions.

"There was a vigorous debate. We came to agreement that we be united in Rotherham on Saturday," he said. "Everyone will stand together in unity against the fascists. My own union PCS is supporting us on their website."

"We have been told the police are going to allow them to march from the station to the old town hall, which is only 50 yards from a mosque," said Mr Hickman. "They are going to do everything they can to provoke an incident. Marching right next to a mosque, you couldn't have a worse act of provocation."

He said that having the Rotherham match switched to a weekday would avoid potential problems. Unite members spoke to the club's chairman, but the Millers have since refused to comment.

Between 100 and 200 EDL supporters are expected – nearly all of them from outside the town.

The anti-fascist protest will mobilise local people who will be supported by communities across Yorkshire and Humberside, including nearby Sheffield and Barnsley. "We are expecting a big turnout," said Mr Hickman.

The anti-fascist protest starts at 11 am at All Saints Square in the town centre. The EDL are expected at 1pm.

Morning Star, 9 October 2012

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A Hampshire grandmother has today been handed a lifetime ASBO for a "racist" and "frightening" poison pen campaign.

Margaret Walker, 73, from Walnut Drive, Hill Head, has been ordered by magistrates to stop sending "foul" and "abusive" letters. She has also been ordered to sign every piece of post she sends and supply a return address.

The order came after Walker carried out a five-year campaign of hate – sending around 500 racist letters all around the country.

MPs, pubs, parish council, shops and individuals were among those that received the "extreme" leaflets, which used a variety of racist slurs and graphic hand-drawn images.

Among other insults, Walker referred to people from Pakistan as scroungers and implied that all Muslim men were "paedophiles".

The letters also included rants against Scottish people, who she referred to as "scum" and various politicians.

Walker was also ordered to pay £5,000 costs.

Southern Daily Echo, 25 September 2012

See also Daily Mail, 26 September 2012

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Earlier this week the English Defence League's political wing, the British Freedom party, announced the appointment of their new South West regional organiser. She's an EDL activist from Bristol named Chelsea Anne White.

White's explanation of her decision to join British Freedom features the usual anti-Muslim rhetoric – "mosques, we don't want them and we don't want burka-clad women on our beaches.... We don't want animals sent for halal slaughter".

However, in a statement on her Facebook page outlining what motivates her longstanding support for the EDL, White makes it clear that her Islamophobia is part of a wider philosophy that differs little from the traditional skin-colour racism of the far right:

"WHEN YOU'VE BEEN AROUND IN THE E.D.L. FOR AS LONG AS SOME OF US ANGELS....YOUR ANGER CHANGES FROM BEING OUTRAGED TO A CALM RESOLVE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT....WE SEE IT DAY IN DAY OUT....INJUSTICE....WE LIVE IN A COUNTRY....OUR COUNTRY.. WHERE IF YOUR WHITE AND ENGLISH YOU DON'T COUNT FOR MUCH BECAUSE THE VOTE IS IN THE AREAS THEY HAVE FLOODED WITH IMMIGRANTS."

You might think that a party which claims its hostility towards Islam has nothing to do with racism would balk at appointing such an obvious racist as its public representative. But then, given BF leader Paul Weston's own views on the "ethnic cleansing" of the "indigenous race", that would be a bit hypocritical, wouldn't it?

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Police are investigating racist comments made over the internet in response to plans for a Muslim place of worship in Hereford. Comments were made via social networking sites after plans for a community centre for Muslims were revealed.

One comment posted on the Hereford Masjid Fundraising Campaign's Facebook page, which has since shut down, threatened to contaminate any land identified as a potential site and referred to the group as vermin.

Supt Charlie Hill, the policing commander for Herefordshire, said everyone has a right to feel safe in the county. He said: "I'm keen to point out all minority groups should be able to live, work and play in Herefordshire in a peaceful environment and we are rigorously investigating the inappropriate comments made by people in electronic format.

"We vigorously support the fact that the Muslim community should have a community centre. The police in Herefordshire have really good relations with minority groups and if you find yourself under attack for being part of a minority group then get in touch with the police."

Anyone with information regarding the inappropriate comments can contact DC Dave Bentley on 0300 3333000.

Hereford Times, 20 September 2012

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Paul Ross and Shaun BuntingA group of men linked to the English Defence League have been fined for chanting racially motivated abuse after attending a football match. The six, from south-west Durham, were found guilty of shouting highly inflammatory chants at Middlesbrough railway station.

Yesterday, more than 50 members of the far-right organisation gathered outside Teesside Magistrates' Court to show their support, and anger flared when court officials would only allow five of them in the public gallery. There was a heavy police presence in the town after supporters met in a nearby pub before going to the court.

The court heard how the men, who represented themselves at last month's trial, shouted abuse at the station in December last year, after Middlesbrough's game against Brighton. The court was told they were singing EDL chants and when they started singing a highly inflammatory religious chant, a police officer decided to eject them from the station. As the group left, one of the men, Christopher Caswell, 32, became aggressive and raised his fist and a British Transport Police officer responded by spraying him with CS gas and calling for police back-up.

Paul Ross, 47, who told the court he runs the south-west Durham division of the EDL, said the group had just been taking part in a bit of banter.

Kevin Smallcombe, in mitigation, said: "All of the defendants will recognise the decision that this court has made, but that is not to say it is accepted, and there will be an appeal."

Elizabeth Hutchinson, the chairwoman of the bench, said: "You knew exactly what you were doing and you deliberately set out to use racially abusive language and intimidate members of the public, in particular the PC who was carrying out his duties."

Jak Beasley, 23, of Cedar Road, Bishop Auckland , was ordered to pay £970 in fines and costs; Caswell, 32, of West Auckland Road, Darlington, was ordered to pay £970; Ross, 48 of Auckland Wynd, Shildon , was ordered to pay £1,040; Shaun Bunting, 33, of Fenhall Green, Newton Aycliffe , was ordered to pay £935; Ross Williams, 23, of Ebberston Court, Spennymoor , was also ordered to pay £935 and Dean Spence, 22, of Yew Close, Spennymoor, was ordered to pay £970.

When the fines were announced, one supporter was ordered out of the public gallery for swearing, and others started chanting when the six defendants left the court building.

Northern Echo, 15 September 2012

See also "Middlesbrough railway station race abuse group to pay £6k", Evening Gazette, 15 September 2012

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A Hampshire gran has denied being a racist – despite sending hundreds of letters containing racial slurs.

Pensioner Margaret Walker sent the handwritten mail to parish councils, MPs, businesses, pubs and clubs nationwide.

The targets of her anonymous campaign ranged from politicians – including Prime Minister David Cameron, who she claimed was "flooding the country with ethnic people" – to the BBC, which she claimed was a "Marxist organisation". Walker, 73, of Walnut Drive, Fareham also referred to Scottish people as "scum", called people of Pakistani origin "scroungers" and used a variety of racist terms.

Many of the letters, sent over several years, referred to the unsolved case of white 14-year-old Charlene Downes, who disappeared from Blackpool in 2003.

Two Middle Eastern men were acquitted of her murder in 2007 after the Crown Prosecution Service conceded it had "grave doubts" about crucial evidence. Despite their acquittal, the court heard that Walker referred to the men in her letters as "Muslim, paedophile murderers".

She admits writing around 500 letters but claims they were not antisocial. She told the court: "I wrote the letters because I was absolutely disgusted that for 30 years my countrymen, cousins, children have been sexually abused, raped and in some cases murdered by Muslim paedophiles and people didn't know what was going on in this country because it was hidden by the establishment. I'm English and if you're English in this country with a voice you're called a racist."

Southern Daily Echo, 11 September 2012

See also "'Racist' gran says she was trying to expose cover-up", Portsmouth News, 11 September 2012

Although Walker denies she is a member of the British National Party (she says she just "admires and supports" them), the BNP hailed her as a heroic defender of the right to free speech and organised two demonstrations in her support (see here and here). The party's South East region even posted scans of her hate-filled leaflet on their website, praising its "use of imagery, metaphor and quoted statements" and describing it as "probably the most hard hitting, no nonsense piece of campaign literature that I have ever had the experience of reading".

However, it may be that the BNP is now having second thoughts about being publicly associated with an unbalanced crank like Walker. Her leaflet has since been removed from the BNP South East website and when the party's regional press officer Tim Rait, who appeared as a witness for the defence, was presented with the material Walker had sent, he replied: "It's not a thing we would have issued – maybe that's tantamount to disassociating ourselves with it."

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