British Politician Charged with “Stirring Up Racial Hatred” by Posting Cartoon
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“The Arc of the Moral Universe is Long, But it Bends Toward Justice.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
Well it is certainly taking its time, we’ll see which way it leans.
From Ryan Hooper, Daily Mail Crime Correspondent:
The former leader of the British National Party (BNP) has appeared in court charged with two counts of stirring up racial hatred on Twitter.
Nick Griffin, 66, shared a ‘racist’ cartoon on social media in 2021 that was ‘threatening, abusive or insulting’, it is alleged.
His defence counsel, Tom Edwards, said there may be an application to dismiss the case at the next hearing, on April 13 2026.
Griffin was again released on unconditional bail by His Honour Judge Christopher Hehir following the eight-minute hearing.
A provisional trial date was listed for May 2027.
It is not the first time Griffin has had to defend himself against charges of hatred.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism first tried to get Griffin charged with the crime in 2022 but:
West Mercia Police have declined our request to investigate the former leader of the BNP after assessing that his tweet suggesting a giant grotesque spider with a star of David on its head urging forward a horde of barbarians – whom he appeared to say should “burn in hell” – to destroy civilisation did not qualify as “racially offensive language”.
The reasoning being that the words were not offensive and the law didn’t apply to the cartoon:
…the police force appears consistently to have looked only at the text of the tweet, explaining that “for an offence to be made out under section 127(a) of the 2003 [Communications] Act the accused must intend for the words to be grossly offensive to whom they relate or must be aware that they may be taken as such. The post was not considered grossly offensive, although it was not pleasant, and would shock and offend, however, there was no use of racially offensive language in the post and it was not directed at one particular group or person.” The police repeatedly failed to address the image in their assessments. Had they done so, they would surely have found that the provisions of the act were made out.
The current story as covered by Leigh Boobyer of the BBC:
Former leader of the British National Party Nick Griffin has appeared in court accused of stirring up racial hatred – for allegedly sharing a cartoon on social media that showed a giant spider with a Star of David on its head.
Mr Griffin, 66, of Welshpool, Powys, is accused of sharing a “threatening, abusive or insulting” cartoon on X in 2021, in a private prosecution by the Campaign Against Antisemitism.
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