Cutting throats comment made ‘in heat of moment'
A video showing Jones, who at the time was also employed as a full-time official for the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) union, addressing the crowd in Walthamstow, east London, on August 7 last year went viral on social media after the protest.
I was not invited to speak on microphone until the last minute and I had not planned or thought about what I was going to say in advance Ricky Jones
Wearing a black polo top and surrounded by cheering supporters, the now-suspended 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 crowd.
Jones was arrested on August 8 last year and interviewed at Brixton Police Station that night.
A prepared statement submitted on Jones' behalf at the police station read: 'Yesterday at a rally in Walthamstow, I made a comment on microphone to a large crowd.
'I accept that these comments were particularly ill-advised.
'I was referring specifically to an incident the day before where some far-right activists had stuck a 'National Front Rights for Whites' sticker on a train and hidden a razor blade behind it in order that anyone trying to remove it would injure themselves.
'This had made me very upset. I grew up in the 1960s and 1970s when the National Front were very active and I experienced a great deal of racism in my youth.
'I did not intend for my comments to be taken literally by anyone and I did not intend to encourage or incite anyone to commit violence against any other.
'I am, however, extremely sorry for making the comments which were made in the heat of the moment and I very much regret having done so.
'I was not invited to speak on microphone until the last minute and I had not planned or thought about what I was going to say in advance.'
The demonstration had been organised in response to plans for a far-right march (PA)
Jones, who has been a borough councillor in Dartford, Kent, since 2019, was suspended by the Labour Party the day after the alleged incident.
A medical report by experts from the prosecution and defence agreed that Jones 'suffers from a number of neurodivergent challenges', jurors were told as part of agreed facts.
These include 'impaired verbal comprehension potentially leading to misunderstanding the impact of his words' and 'slower cognitive processing meaning he may not have evaluated the situation in real time'.
Jurors were also told testing had established Jones suffers from 'impulsivity increasing the likelihood of reactive speech' and 'emotional arousal which can override deliberate decision-making'.
The agreed facts read by prosecutor Ben Holt stated: 'The experts agree that these challenges may contribute to impulsive verbal responses in emotionally charged situations.
'These challenges can impair his ability to plan responses and inhibit inappropriate remarks. This could lead to Ricky Jones making regrettable statements when he is unprepared.'
The prosecution's medical expert, Dr Scott Mackenzie, said Jones' difficulties appeared 'functionally on the milder side as demonstrated by his ability to successfully work in senior roles where he has to speak publicly'.
The defence's medical expert Dr Alison Beck said Jones' difficulties were 'statistically and clinically significant'.
The demonstration had been organised in response to plans for a far-right march outside Waltham Forest Immigration Bureau, jurors were told.
It followed the nationwide violent disorder that occurred last summer after the Southport murders.
Jones, of Dartford, denies one count of encouraging violent disorder.
Judge Rosa Dean told jurors on Tuesday morning that a person had 'tailgated' them into a secure area of the court on Monday after CCTV footage was reviewed.
The judge added: 'It's perfectly clear that the person who tailgated has absolutely nothing to do with this case and that person is not welcome in this court.'
The trial continues.
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Telegraph
41 minutes ago
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Now we have proof free speech is a joke in two-tier Britain
After Labour councillor Ricky Jones stood at a demonstration in Walthamstow decrying 'disgusting Nazi fascists' and telling a crowd through a microphone that 'we need to cut all their throats and get rid of them all', a jury of Mr Jones's peers cleared him of any offence. When Lucy Connolly – married to a Tory councillor – posted on social media 'set fire to all the f-----g hotels full of all the b------s for all I care… if that makes me racist so be it', she chose to plead guilty under apparent pressure from the state. Ms Connolly is currently serving a 31-month prison sentence, at times on a 23-hour lockdown confined to her cell with no privileges, for her ill-tempered words. Others, who stood their ground, walked free. The results were still unpleasant – the process is in part the punishment – but better than they might otherwise have been. It is hard not to feel that the difference between the two cases is less a matter of law than politics. Lucy Connolly was denied bail as Sir Keir Starmer and the judiciary worked on their 'shared understanding' that anyone expressing sentiments that could have encouraged last year's riots needed to be made an example of. Sir Keir himself told the nation that individuals would be held on remand. The Home Office openly risked prejudicing trials by labelling those arrested, charged but not yet convicted as 'criminals'. If there's a lesson here, it may well be that people can say stupid things without the world collapsing around them. And that the public – which did not visibly respond to either exhortation – can be trusted, for the most part, to recognise the distinction between genuinely threatening language and idiocy, both on the streets and in jury deliberations. Unlike our American cousins, British people have only a very qualified right to free speech. While the human rights system appears to go out of its way to undermine attempts to control borders or crack down on crime, protection of speech is heavily caveated. And the British state makes full use of these carve-outs in its attempt to maintain its fragile grip on the country it has built. Its most important aim is to prevent tensions between groups. Speech that might inflame them is subject to stringent oversight and exacting scrutiny by officials terrified of what might spiral out from a frank examination of the country as it is. People on the Left, however, can speak with relative security. The result, in the words of Reform's Zia Yusuf, appears to be 'a country in which those who have the correct 'regime' political views can openly call for their political opponents to be brutally murdered, be filmed doing so, and face no criminal consequences'.
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12 hours ago
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The decision to clear Ricky Jones of encouraging violent disorder has not gone down well with many senior politicians. Footage of the suspended Labour councillor went viral last August after he suggested that far-right protesters should have their throats slit. Jones, 58, drew his finger across his throat and called demonstrators 'disgusting Nazi fascists'. On Friday, jurors found him not guilty after just half an hour of deliberations. Many were quick to contrast it to the Lucy Connolly case, whereby the wife of a Tory politician was jailed for 31 months during the Southport riots after writing 'set fire to all the… hotels [housing asylum seekers]… for all I care'. Some senior Conservatives certainly see it this way. Chris Philp, the Shadow Home Secretary, made that comparison explicit, writing that 'the development of two tier justice is becoming increasingly alarming.' He added that ministers 'must come forward with plans to ensure justice is handed out equally, regardless of the background or views of the perpetrator' but 'this Labour government seems to be quite happy with two tier justice'. His colleague James Cleverly, the Housing spokesman, called the verdict 'unacceptable', writing on X that 'decisions like this are adding to the anger that people feel and amplifying the belief that there isn't a dispassionate criminal justice system'. Clearly, this decision is a controversial one. But there is a crucial difference between the Jones trial and the punishment meted out to Lucy Connolly: she pleaded guilty so she did not receive a jury trial. Had she done so, she might well have been acquitted. Take the case of former Royal Marine Jamie Michael. Charged with stirring up racial hatred after Southport, he was acquitted by his jury after just 17 minutes. It was only five weeks' ago that Robert Jenrick was leading a big campaign against proposals to limit jury trials. For some of his fellow Tories to now rush to condemn them, off the back of one verdict, is an overreaction, given the essential pressure valve they function. All this matters because judicial reform is likely to be a cornerstone of the next government of the right. Kemi Badenoch is reviewing how Britain to leave the European Court of Human Rights; others want her to go much further. The last Tory administration found itself fighting endless battles in the courts, in a fruitless bid to halt illegal migration. Picking the right battles over the right principles is essential if the next government is to avoid repeating that fate.
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Tories and Reform decry two-tier justice as suspended Labour councillor cleared
Ricky Jones, 58, faced trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court accused of the offence after he described demonstrators as 'disgusting Nazi fascists' at an anti-racism rally in the wake of the Southport murders. He was cleared on Friday. Nigel Farage and shadow home secretary Chris Philp both pointed to the idea of 'two-tier justice' in relation to the case. This is another outrageous example of two-tier justice. — Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) August 15, 2025 Mr Philp compared the case to that of Lucy Connolly, who was jailed after she posted a tweet calling for 'mass deportation' and 'set fire to all the f****** hotels' on the day of the Southport attacks last year. In a post on X, Mr Philp said: 'The development of two tier justice is becoming increasingly alarming.' Ex-Reform chairman Zia Yusuf also referred to Connolly's case, and said that 'two tier justice in this country is out of control'. Connolly pleaded guilty last year to a charge of inciting racial hatred by publishing and distributing 'threatening or abusive' written material on X, which meant she did not face a trial. In Jones' case, a jury deliberated for just over half an hour before they found him not guilty. A video showing Jones addressing crowds on Hoe Street in Walthamstow, east London, on August 7 last year went viral on social media after the protest, which had been organised in response to plans for a far-right march outside Waltham Forest Immigration Bureau. It is astonishing that Labour councillor Ricky Jones, who was caught on video calling for throats to be slit, is let off scot free – whereas Lucy Connolly got 31 months prison for posting something no worse. The development of two tier justice is becoming increasingly alarming.… — Chris Philp MP (@CPhilpOfficial) August 15, 2025 The suspended councillor said in the clip: '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 crowd. Jurors deliberated for just over 30 minutes before finding him not guilty. Jones, who wore a navy blue suit with a white shirt and pale pink tie in the dock, was seen mouthing 'thank-you' at the jurors. Family and supporters hugged each other before Jones, who declined to comment, was driven out of the court grounds in a car. The 58-year-old, who at the time was also employed as a full-time official for the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association union, was arrested on August 8 last year and interviewed at Brixton police station that night. Jones, who has been a borough councillor in Dartford, Kent, since 2019, was suspended by Labour the day after the incident. It is understood a party investigation continues and its outcome will decide what happens to his membership. A spokesperson for the party said at the time his behaviour 'was completely unacceptable and it will not be tolerated'. Giving evidence in his trial, Jones said his comment did not refer to far-right protesters involved in the riots at the time, but to those who had reportedly left National Front stickers on a train with razor blades hidden behind them. Before he made the comment, jurors were shown video where he said to crowds: 'You've got women and children using these trains during the summer holidays.' Lawyers said the case cannot be compared to that of Connolly, as they faced different charges and she pleaded guilty while Jones did not. Peter Stringfellow, a solicitor at Brett Wilson, said in Connolly's case, racially aggravated discourse on social media translated into real-life violence across the country, whereas Mr Jones' comments at a rally did not cause violent disorder. Ernest Aduwa, partner at Stokoe Partnership Solicitors, said: 'We need to be honest about what is going on here. The verdict in the Ricky Jones case was not political, it was legal. 'A jury listened to the evidence, tested it and decided unanimously he was not guilty. That is not bias or 'two-tier justice', it is the justice system doing what it is supposed to do, separating facts from noise.' Laura Allen, head of the protest and public order team at Hodge, Jones and Allen lawyers, said it was 'frankly offensive' to the ordinary members of the public who sat on the jury to suggest they had not acted appropriately. She said: 'They are 12 members of the jury, picked at random, who have done their civic duty, have listened to the evidence in the case and concluded they could not be sure that Ricky Jones was guilty. 'Due to the way our jury system works they are not required, and certainly are not permitted, to explain the reasons for their decision.'
