Britain First leaders jailed: Police release mugshots of Jayda Fransen and Paul Golding because of impact on community Kent Police breaks normal protocol 'because of the impact they had on the wider community' Lizzie Dearden Home Affairs Correspondent @lizziedearden Thursday 8 March 2018 18:34 GMT please log in to view this image Police have released photos showing the leaders of far-right extremist group Britain First in custody because of the effect their hate crimes had on the local community. Kent Police’s rules stipulate that mugshots are normally released for convicts jailed for a year or more, but a spokesperson said Paul Golding and Jayda Fransen were an exception. “Due to the nature of the offences committed and the impact they had on the wider community, we believe it is in the public interest to make these available,” he said. Jayda Fransen appeals to Donald Trump to intervene in her criminal court case please log in to view this image Read more Britain First leaders jailed for anti-Muslim hate crime Fransen was jailed for 36 weeks and Golding for 18 weeks after they were convicted on several counts of religiously-aggravated harassment following a trial at Folkestone Magistrates’ Court. They were arrested in May after harassing and abusing people they incorrectly believed were involved in an ongoing rape trial. The pair distributed leaflets and posted videos, endangering an ongoing trial at Canterbury Crown Court where three Muslim men and a teenager were later convicted and jailed. Judge Justin Barron said their words and actions “demonstrated hostility” towards Muslims and Islam, and prosecutors warned that Fransen and Golding could have caused the case to collapse. “I have no doubt it was their joint intention to use the facts of the case for their own political ends,” the judge said. “It was a campaign to draw attention to the race, religion and immigrant background of the defendants.” Britain First leaders jailed for anti-Muslim hate crime Kent Police recorded at least three days of abuse. One saw Golding film Fransen attempting to enter a fast food restaurant near where the defendants had gang raped a 16-year-old girl and shouting abuse at the people inside. But the man, a woman and two teenage girls targeted were not involved in the trial and had not committed any criminal offences. Days later, Fransen banged on the front door of a house where one of the defendants lived and shouted abuse while his partner and her two young children were inside, then posted footage online. In the video played in court, Fransen could be seen shouting: “Come out and face me you disgusting rapist, come on.” Read more Britain First supporter who drove van at curry house jailed Britain First leader Paul Golding to deny inciting hatred Britain First deputy leader Jayda Fransen to go on trial in Belfast The following day, a “vulnerable” man from Canterbury learned that a video had been posted online in which his address was wrongly identified as the home of one of the men on trial. Leaflets entitled “Exposing Muslim Rapist” had been posted through his front door and those of his neighbours, forcing him to move house because he feared for his safety. Detective Inspector Bill Thornton said Golding and Fransen’s crimes were “abhorrent and motivated by religious insensitivities”. “They claimed to be exposing the men who had been accused of rape when in reality they knew little about the case in question and could have put the trial at risk due to their reckless actions,” he added. “It was the bravery of the female who was attacked and the tireless work of Kent Police detectives who ensured the men responsible are now serving a significant period of time behind bars, not because of any misguided attempt by Golding and Fransen to claim credit for their conviction by bringing religion into the equation. “The fact that completely innocent members of the public were accused of being rapists, making them fear for their own safety, shows how little regard they have for the consequences of their actions. “Kent Police simply will not tolerate any offences that are motivated by prejudice and hate.” Golding, 36, was convicted of one count of religiously aggravated harassment and acquitted on two others. His deputy, 32-year-old Fransen, was found guilty of three counts of the same offence and cleared of one. Fransen had denied all charges and claimed she did not use the phrase “Muslim bastards”, or say that all Muslims are rapists. please log in to view this image Read more Finsbury Park terror attacker turned to violence by far-right posts Golding also denied the charges and said he was only acting as Fransen's cameraman. The “campaign” was one of a series of similar stunts by Britain First, which selectively highlights crimes it believes to be convicted by defendants from Muslim backgrounds. The Finsbury Park terror attacker, Darren Osborne, read Britain First posts before his attempted massacre of Muslim worshippers, while neo-Nazi Thomas Mair repeatedly shouted the group’s name while murdering Labour MP Jo Cox. The group gained international notoriety when Donald Trump shared several of Fransen’s Twitter posts last year, sparking a diplomatic row after Theresa May condemned the action. Both Fransen and Golding have since been banned from Twitter in a crackdown on extremism and hate speech, but Britain First continues to have a large following on Facebook, were its official page is “liked” by more than 2 million people. They are due to stand trial in Northern Ireland next month over separate allegations of inciting hatred at the “Northern Ireland Against Terrorism” rally in Belfast. Britain First was attempting to use their imprisonment to recruit supporters and further its narrative of being victimised by authorities for “free speech”.
Unfolding reports of 1000 plus white children ( as young as 11) sexually abused by Pakistani gangs in Telford throws petrol on the Britain First fire. When are the UK authorities going to protect kids from these vile, sociopathic rapists, and when will the endemic culture of ****phelia within the male Muslim community be strenuously challenged instead of all the pc crap?
I listened to LBC yesterday and was disgusted to hear a story of a 14 yr old girl and how she was abused at the hands of these monsters. It was really shocking to hear this story.
Politically correct councils have been ignoring this scandal nationwide for years, on the basis that it is people of colour that are the victims. I'd like to see some of those council officials and police and CPS that won't prosecute offenders, in the dock alongside the perpetrators of these dreadful crimes.
The LBC presenter said the same about the councils and he himself was Asian. I know crap happens in society but even this morning that story haunts me. How people could do such a thing to children is abhorrent. The worrying thing is that these PC councils will get away with it. I remember on here getting a barrage from certain posters when I mentioned 'yogurt knitters' and 'PC brigade', after what I heard yesterday I wasn't strong enough.
Yes, that would be Maajid Nawaz who's an excellent commentator on Islamic matters, being Muslim himself and really well informed on the Islamic world and history
Interesting comments coming out of Germany this evening regarding the World Cup in Russia and a movement calling for the football team to boycott the tournament. Julian Reichelt from Bild said they are P'd with Russia and it's stance on Syria. A picture of a young Syria girl covered in blood/burns and bandages has shocked many people in Germany. He said how can the World Champions go there when the purpose of the tournament is about peace. I said before that Putin is about strength/looking Macho and what people think. if you want to get back at him then embarrass him. For me, I would pull the England team out and others will join. It will not be safe for our fans in Russia and they will be targeted by Putin's organized paramilitary mobs. It has already been proven that the ones that attacked English fans in France were organized by their government officials. On another note, I was humbled by Julian Reichelt's comments. in all the talk on here and elsewhere about Brexit. It was nice to listen to someone who wasn't interested in anything other than the supporting our country and how he was united with us. He articulated his points really well.
Boycott Russia, invite the likes of the Germans and our other EU "friends" and any other qualifiers to an alternative competition here.
I thought that but 3 months is too short a time to organize. Shame because Russia only got the tournament through corruption in FIFA.
I would support this, but I'm afraid we would be unlikely to get much support. A boycott just by England would have little impact.
The USA, Chile, the Netherlands and Italy have already stood by their principles and boycotted the World Cup ! Seriously though, I would also support a boycott, but at such short notice an alternative competition probably isn't possible.
Having agreed with all of the above regarding possible boycott's of Russia, the comments by TM. and setting up an ultimatum for Putin regarding the Salisbury poisoning are out of place, and very dangerous. Like all people on this planet Putin is innocent until proven guilty and to make a direct accusation in this way is over the top. TM. has now boxed herself into a corner in which she has to do something if Russia doesn't react to her demands. The probability is that sections of the Russian secret service acted autonomously on this - a secret service is exactly that 'secret', including in relation to their own government. I do not believe that the President of the USA. knows all of the activities of the CIA. There are too many other possibilities which are still open before we can start pointing accusing fingers at Putin in this way.
Cannot agree with that. Putin runs a police state and nothing happens without his say. I am all for innocent until proven guilty however, we are not talking about someone being shot with a gun. The nerve agent used is highly sophisticated and you don't get it from your local Lidl's. TM did the best thing she could which is to defend the people of this country. We should not fear Russia. By the sounds of it the US and France have already shown a united front. I can see many more countries doing the same. Putin is acting like a school bully. Just look at his record in Crimea,Ukraine,Estonia,Syria, the shot down plane. Look at the many politicians executed in the streets of Moscow who go against him. Too many apologists around regarding this evil little dictator
The nerve agent used was developed by the USSR in the 70s and 80s - in other words it has been around for 40 odd years. Easily enough time for such a thing to be in more common usage than confined to just Russia - particularly considering the chaos surrounding the fall of the USSR. As for Putin having his hands in everything - this is too simplified. Secret services operate almost as a state within a state, answerable only to themselves. The chances that some rogue element of their secret services acted on their own initiative are very high. In which case a direct accusation is premature until we have more evidence. More constructive would have been to ask Putin to 'help us with our enquiries', which he is probably doing anyway. I am no apologist for Putin in other ways - but if you are really going to have NATO missiles on Russia's doorstep (in contravention of all promises made to Gorbachov regarding NATO expansion) then you must expect a reaction. As for having the Crimea on his 'crimes' list - I would suggest that the Russian intervention there prevented a bloodbath.
mmm Sadly you have gone from one point to many others which come across as a Putin apologist. Your comments about secret services maybe correct however Putin should be in charge of these organizations. Besides, you said it could be a Russian SS and not Putin. I believe TM said it came from Russia which is correct, so what is your point? No matter how you dress it up it still comes back to Russia. As for Russia 'helping us with our inquiries"? Maybe you should ask the UK police and team that went out to Moscow for the other murder and how they were intimidated, threatened and I believe were tried to be poisoned. Bringing Nato, missiles and Crimea into it really sums up what your agenda is about.
