British Court Sentences Former Army Officer Over Anti-Semitic Speech

From England, The Independent reported yesterday that right-wing activist  Jeremy Bedford-Turner was sentenced by the Southwark Crown Court to one year in jail after a jury convicted him of stirring up racial hatred in violation of the Public Order Act1986.  The charges stem from a 15-minute long virulently anti-Semitic speech that Bedford-Turner gave in July 2015 in central London.  The speech, opposing the Shomrim Jewish civilian patrol group, called for Britains to "free England from Jewish control."  Bedford-Turner, who previously served 12 years in the British army, was given a standing ovation by 35 of his supporters in the court room after he was sentenced. Britain's Campaign Against Anti-Semitism (CAA) has criticized the Crown Prosecution Service for its initial decision not to prosecute Bedford-Turner, a decision reversed only after CAA challenged the decision in court.