After CAA investigation Graham Hart pleads guilty to eight charges of producing a programme with intent or likely to stir up racial hatred
A Cornish man has pleaded guilty to eight charges under the Public Order Act 1986 after investigations by Campaign Against Antisemitism prompted action by Devon and Cornwall Police.
Graham Hart, 69, of Penponds, Camborne, was charged earlier this year with five counts of using offending words or behaviour in a programme involving threatening, abusive or insulting visual images or sounds which was included in a programme produced with intent or likely to stir up racial hatred.
Three further charges arose from comments that Mr Hart made on another radio show in late December 2020.
Mr Hart pleaded guilty to all counts today of producing a programme with intent or likely to stir up racial hatred at Truro Crown Court. The Judge, HHJ Linford, noted that these are serious offences and scheduled a sentencing hearing for 6th August, pending a psychiatric report. The judge warned Mr Hart that he “should anticipate an immediate sentence of imprisonment”. The maximum sentence for each of these charges is seven years in prison.
We will be providing further information following sentencing.
Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Thanks to the diligence of Devon and Cornwall Police, who acted on our investigations, Graham Hart has pleaded guilty to eight very serious charges of inciting racial hatred. The offences constitute some of the most extreme hatred towards Jews that we have ever encountered. It is vital that the Jewish community is protected from this man, and we hope that the sentence will also send a message to like-minded people that hate towards British Jews will not be tolerated.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews almost four times more likely to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
