NOT GUILTY: Ricky Jones Cleared Over ‘Throat-Slit’ Speech

Ricky Jones, a Labour councillor accused of using violent rhetoric at an anti-racism rally, has been cleared of encouraging violent disorder following a trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

The 58-year-old was alleged to have told crowds in Walthamstow on 7 August last year that far-right protesters were:

and that

While also drawing a finger across his throat as he spoke.

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Prosecutors claimed the language, amplified through a microphone and speakers, was “inflammatory” and delivered in a “tinderbox” setting where violence could readily have been anticipated. Mr Jones, who has served as a Dartford councillor since 2019 but was suspended by the Labour Party on 8 August last year, denied the charge and maintained his words were ill-advised but not intended to incite violence.

The rally, organised in response to a planned far-right march outside Waltham Forest Immigration Bureau, drew large crowds and was described by some attendees as peaceful and joyful. Mr Jones told the court his comments referred not to protesters present that day but to a separate incident involving National Front stickers allegedly affixed to a train with razor blades hidden behind them. Video shown to the jury captured him warning about “women and children using these trains during the summer holidays” and stating that those responsible “don’t [care] who they hurt” Mr Jones, who at the time was employed as a full-time official for the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association, was arrested the day after the rally. Giving evidence, he said he was “appalled” by political violence and had always believed peaceful demonstration was the most effective means of making a point. He told jurors it was his “duty” to attend counter-protests despite advice to the contrary.

Jurors deliberated for just 30 minutes before returning a verdict of not guilty. The prosecution, led by Ben Holt, argued Mr Jones was “rabble-rousing” in circumstances where disorder was foreseeable. The defence, led by Hossein Zahir KC, contended that the remarks were taken out of context and that Mr Jones’s history of campaigning was consistent with non-violent activism.

Following the verdict, MP James Cleverly, the shadow secretary for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, posted on X that the decision was “unacceptable”. He wrote:

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Well that wraps up our coverage of the Ricky Jones Trial, so until our next trial, please stay tuned, stay informed, but most of all stay safe, and we'll see you then.