Labour councillor ‘called for far-right protesters' throats to be slit'

South Wales Guardian

3 days ago

In the wake of rioting following the Southport murders, Ricky Jones, 58, described demonstrators as 'disgusting Nazi fascists', his trial was told.
The now-suspended councillor had been told by the Labour Party to stay away from the protest, but turned up anyway, jurors heard.
A video showing Jones addressing the crowd in Walthamstow, east London, on August 7 last year went viral on social media after the protest.
Wearing a black polo top and surrounded by cheering supporters, the councillor said: 'They are disgusting Nazi fascists. We need to cut all their throats and get rid of them all.'
He also drew his finger across his throat as he spoke to the 'tinderbox' crowd.
The demonstration had been organised in response to plans for a far-right march outside Waltham Forest Immigration Bureau, jurors at Snaresbrook Crown Court were told.
It followed the nationwide violent disorder that occurred last summer after the Southport murders.
Prosecutor Ben Holt said Jones used 'inflammatory, rabble-rousing language in the throng of a crowd that we will hear described as a tinderbox'.
Opening the case on Monday, Mr Holt said: 'Last summer, three young girls were killed at a dance-themed party in Southport.
'There was some hysteria… Some of that grief manifested itself in anger, and regrettably, violence.'
The incidents brought out counter-protests, one of which Jones decided to go to, the prosecutor said.
'He attended in the face of considered advice not to do so,' Mr Holt added.
'At Walthamstow that day, rumours had spread that there was going to be a protest outside an immigration centre.
'During that event, he made a speech, amplified through a public address system, to the crowd.
'He called the other side disgusting Nazi fascists. He said that their throats needed to be slit.
'He drew his finger along his throat as he said that.
'This, in a setting where, we suggest, violence could readily have been anticipated.
'We ask rhetorically, what did Mr Jones think was going to happen?'
In the days before the protest, the councillor had been warned to stay away by his party.
A letter sent to him said: 'With heightened tensions in many areas of the country due to the threat of further violent disorder, we wanted to remind all Labour party councillors to follow the clear advice issued by the police which is not to take part in, attend or encourage others to attend, any sort of demonstration or counter demonstration.'
Jones, of Dartford, who denies one count of encouraging violent disorder, told police he was 'sorry' he made the comments 'in the heat of the moment', and had not intended for them to be 'taken literally', Mr Holt said.
The councillor also told police he was upset having been sent pictures of National Front stickers that had been left on a train, which had razor blades hidden behind them.
Jones, who has been a borough councillor in Dartford, Kent, since 2019, was suspended by the Labour Party the day after the alleged incident.
The trial continues.