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Man jailed for harassing Labour MP Luciana Berger | |
(about 3 hours later) | |
A man who subjected a Jewish MP to an online campaign of anti-Semitic abuse has been jailed for two years. | |
Joshua Bonehill-Paine, 24, was convicted of the racially aggravated harassment of Luciana Berger at the Old Bailey on Wednesday. | |
Speaking earlier, the Liverpool Wavertree MP said she felt "unsafe" after a "prolonged" campaign that also "inspired others to post messages". | |
She added she was concerned about an increase in the far right. | |
Speaking to the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire before Bonehill-Paine's sentencing, she said: "We're seeing it across Europe but we're seeing it in our country as well." | |
Government figures, she said, showed an increase in the number of people coming from a right-wing extremist ideology being referred to the government's counter-terrorism strategy Prevent programme. | Government figures, she said, showed an increase in the number of people coming from a right-wing extremist ideology being referred to the government's counter-terrorism strategy Prevent programme. |
"The concern is when that extremism also crosses the line into terrorism," Ms Berger said. "It also crosses the line into physical threats." | "The concern is when that extremism also crosses the line into terrorism," Ms Berger said. "It also crosses the line into physical threats." |
The Home Office has been contacted for comment. | The Home Office has been contacted for comment. |
In October, Wyre and Preston North MP Ben Wallace told Parliament that Prevent had had a growth in far-right referrals, adding: "In some areas of the country, these Prevent referrals outnumber those about the other parts we are worried about." | In October, Wyre and Preston North MP Ben Wallace told Parliament that Prevent had had a growth in far-right referrals, adding: "In some areas of the country, these Prevent referrals outnumber those about the other parts we are worried about." |
Ms Berger spoke out after a court heard how 24-year-old Joshua Bonehill-Paine wrote five hate-filled blogs in 2014 harassing her. | Ms Berger spoke out after a court heard how 24-year-old Joshua Bonehill-Paine wrote five hate-filled blogs in 2014 harassing her. |
Bonehill-Paine, of Yeovil, Somerset, posted the articles after the jailing of fellow far-right extremist Garron Helm in October the same year. | Bonehill-Paine, of Yeovil, Somerset, posted the articles after the jailing of fellow far-right extremist Garron Helm in October the same year. |
Helm, then 21, from Merseyside, had admitted sending a picture on Twitter depicting the MP with a holocaust-era Star of David on her forehead and the hashtag "Hitler was right". | Helm, then 21, from Merseyside, had admitted sending a picture on Twitter depicting the MP with a holocaust-era Star of David on her forehead and the hashtag "Hitler was right". |
Over the next four months, Bonehill-Paine posted articles online calling Ms Berger "an evil money-grabber" and claiming the number of Jewish Labour MPs was a "problem". | Over the next four months, Bonehill-Paine posted articles online calling Ms Berger "an evil money-grabber" and claiming the number of Jewish Labour MPs was a "problem". |
Ms Berger said: "This isn't just someone having a go... I felt unsafe because some of the people involved in that campaign... it inspired others to post messages that told me to watch my back, referred to where I lived and made physical threats against me. | Ms Berger said: "This isn't just someone having a go... I felt unsafe because some of the people involved in that campaign... it inspired others to post messages that told me to watch my back, referred to where I lived and made physical threats against me. |
"As we've seen from the conviction, this is not tolerated in Britain and there are means and ways by which people will be held to account." | "As we've seen from the conviction, this is not tolerated in Britain and there are means and ways by which people will be held to account." |