The Attorney General, the Rt Hon Suella Braverman QC MP, today visited the Community Security Trust (CST) to discuss their work combatting antisemitic hate crime.
The CST aims to promote good relations between British Jews and the rest of British society by working towards the elimination of racism and antisemitism. They represent British Jews on issues of racism, antisemitism, extremism, policing and security, and assist those who are victims of antisemitic hatred, harassment or bias. Visiting the CST’s headquarters in Hendon, the Attorney General discussed the impact of hate crime on Britain’s Jewish community and the work that it is doing to raise awareness of and tackle the rise in anti-Semitic hate crime.
Today’s visit takes place during Hate Crime Awareness Week. Hate crime is when someone is targeted because of their actual or perceived race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or disability. It is a criminal offence and the law provides additional penalties for such crimes.
Last year (2020/2021) the CPS prosecuted 363 cases of religiously aggravated hate crime, in which 74.3% of cases the defendants pled guilty.
Over the last three years ending in 2020/21, CPS also prosecuted 8,202 cases of racially aggravated hate crime, in which 82% of defendants pled guilty.
The Attorney General, the Rt Hon Suella Braverman QC MP, thanked CST for their welcome and stated:
Antisemitism has no place in our country, and I applaud the work of the Community Security Trust in building and strengthening relations between British Jews and the rest of society. Hate crime can have a deep impact on victims and offenders targeting someone based on their race or religion can expect to receive a higher sentence to reflect the enormity of their crimes.
The UK has a robust legal framework to tackle hate crime, and last year the CPS prosecuted over 10,000 cases. Victims of antisemitic hate crimes can feel encouraged that they will be taken seriously when they come forward.
CST Chief Executive Mark Gardner said:
CST’s partnership with government, the police and the CPS is central to our work protecting the Jewish community and securing justice for people who are victims of anti-Jewish hate. We were grateful for the opportunity to show CST’s work to the Attorney General in person and discuss the importance of prosecuting and convicting hate crime offenders at a time of rising antisemitism.
The Attorney General has also recently referred the case of Ben John to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme, as she believed it to be unduly lenient. Far-right extremist Ben John was convicted of possessing the ‘Anarchist’s Cookbook’ which gives detailed instruction on how to plan and execute terror attacks using explosives and by other means of violence. He was sentenced to 2 years imprisonment’, suspended for 2 years.
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