www.bbc.com Open in urlscan Pro
151.101.128.81  Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

LET US KNOW YOU AGREE TO COOKIES

We use cookies to give you the best online experience. Please let us know if you
agree to all of these cookies.

Yes, I agree

No, take me to settings

BBC Homepage
 * Skip to content
 * Accessibility Help

 * Sign in
 * Home
 * News
 * Sport
 * Reel
 * Worklife
 * Travel
 * Future
 * Culture
 * MenuMore

Search
 * Home
 * News
 * Sport
 * Reel
 * Worklife
 * Travel
 * Future
 * Culture
 * Music
 * TV
 * Weather
 * Sounds

Close menu
BBC News
Menu
 * Home
 * Coronavirus
 * Climate
 * Video
 * World
 * UK
 * Business
 * Tech
 * Science
 * Stories
 * Entertainment & Arts

More
 * Health
 * World News TV
 * In Pictures
 * Reality Check
 * Newsbeat
 * Long Reads

 * England
 * Regions
 * Leicester


BEN JOHN: EXTREMIST ORDERED TO READ BOOKS IS JAILED

By Liam Barnes
BBC News and PA News agency

Published1 day ago
Share
close
Share page
Copy link
About sharing
Image source, Lincolnshire Police
Image caption,
Ben John must hand himself in to police by 16:00 GMT on Thursday

A man told by a judge to read classic literature after being found guilty of a
terrorism offence will be jailed after a suspended sentence was quashed.

Ben John, who police described as a white supremacist, was given a two-year
suspended sentence in August.

The 22-year-old was convicted of having a copy of The Anarchist Cookbook on a
computer hard drive.

The Court of Appeal ruled the original sentence was unlawful and ordered John to
serve two years in prison.

He will also spend a further year on extended licence.

Lord Justice Holroyde said: "We are satisfied that there must be a sentence of
immediate imprisonment."



John, of Addison Drive, Lincoln, who attended the hearing via videolink, must
hand himself in to police by 16:00 GMT on Thursday.


Image caption,
Ben John took a copy of Pride and Prejudice with him to his first review hearing
at Leicester Crown Court

Last year, police said John had collected tens of thousands of documents in bulk
downloads on to hard drives, which contained "a wealth" of white supremacist and
anti-Semitic material.

The ex-student was charged under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act, and found
guilty by a jury of one count.

Alongside a suspended sentence he was handed a five-year serious crime
prevention order, with Judge Timothy Spencer QC ordering him to read famous
works such as Shakespeare plays and Pride and Prejudice.

At a review hearing earlier this month the judge quizzed John about his
literature reading, having received a "largely positive" report about him.

The defendant explained he had "enjoyed Shakespeare more than Jane Austen", and
the judge concluded there had been "encouraging" progress.



Image caption,
Ben John was described by police as a white supremacist with a neo-Nazi ideology

The Attorney General's Office (AGO) referred his sentence to the Court of Appeal
under the unduly lenient sentencing scheme.

It came after campaign group Hope Not Hate wrote an open letter calling for a
review of the case.

Solicitor General Alex Chalk QC, who presented the AGO's case to the Court of
Appeal, said there were "real concerns" over John's online activity, with him
liking far-right material on social media days after telling the judge he had
abandoned such thoughts.

Richard Wormald QC, representing John, said his client was "a young child" when
he first came across the document, which was one of thousands among an
"electronic library" that also included Marxist literature.

Pointing to the effect being held in remand had on the defendant, he said the
judge's decision to suspend the sentence was "entirely sensible, carefully
constructed and appropriate", with a "robust" rehabilitation programme also in
place.

Lord Justice Holroyde, sitting with Mr Justice Lavender and Sir Nigel Davis,
said certain offences required a mandatory year on licence, but a suspended
sentence and licence cannot last for longer than two years, making John's
sentence "unlawful".



"The judge had no power to impose a suspended sentence as he did," he said.




ANALYSIS

By Phil Mackie, BBC Midlands correspondent

After his trial in August, the judge said he thought John wasn't a "lost cause",
and believed he stood a greater chance of rehabilitation without being
incarcerated.

When the 22-year-old last appeared in court - on 6 January - he brought with him
copies of Twelfth Night and Pride and Prejudice.

He was due to return to Leicester Crown Court in July to update the judge on his
reading list.

We may never know what he was going to tackle next, or whether he will continue
to plough through the classics in the prison library.

In what was an extremely unusual case, the former student appeared today via
video link, but had to leave for several hours to go to work in a butcher's
shop, before returning to hear that he will, after all, be going to prison.



After the hearing Mr Chalk said he was "pleased" to see the judges find the
original sentence "unduly lenient".

"The government is committed to confronting terrorism in all its forms,
including from the extreme right wing," he said.

"We remain focused on disrupting the activities of the most dangerous
extremists, supporting those who stand up to their hateful rhetoric, and
protecting vulnerable people being drawn into terrorism."

Nick Lowles, from Hope Not Hate, welcomed the new sentence, describing far-right
extremism as "the fastest growing threat of violence in Britain today".

"The priority must be a focus on countering radicalisation, especially online,
and making it harder for far-right activists to organise and recruit," he said.

"Ultimately, the main deterrent to most offenders comes in the social cost
associated with being caught and convicted."



Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, on Twitter, or on Instagram. Send your
story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk.


MORE ON THIS STORY

 * Judge encouraged by extremist's literature reading
   
   Published6 January

 * Sentence review for extremist told to read books
   
   Published28 September 2021

 * Review bid after extremist 'told to read books'
   
   Published2 September 2021


RELATED INTERNET LINKS

 * HM Courts & Tribunals Service

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.


RELATED TOPICS

 * Lincoln
 * Leicester




FROM OTHER LOCAL NEWS SITES

 * Three men appear in court charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a
   woman in the Harborough district
   
   ExternalHarborough Today

 * Drug dealer from Lutterworth jailed for his part in a 'drugs line' being run
   in Leicestershire
   
   ExternalHarborough Today

 * Air ambulance crew lands in Melton after reports of a pedestrian being hit by
   a ...
   
   ExternalMelton Times

 * Boats and cruisers might soon travel again through Melton Mowbray
   
   ExternalMelton Times

Information about BBC links to other news sites




TOP STORIES

 * Urgent US-Russia talks amid Ukraine tensions
   
   Published58 minutes ago

 * Minor incursion or invasion? Biden clarifies on Russia. VideoMinor incursion
   or invasion? Biden clarifies on Russia
   
   Published13 hours ago

 * Singer Meat Loaf dies aged 74
   
   Published13 minutes ago




FEATURES

 * 'If you protest again, we'll kill you'
   
   

 * Letters of support pour in for nun who lost rape case
   
   

 * Divided French left fight doomed race of their own
   
   
 * 

 * Quiz of the week: Could you be the ruler of a remote island?
   
   

 * Like a drone that you sit in – but does it feel safe?
   
   

 * The radio station bringing worried Tongans together. VideoThe radio station
   bringing worried Tongans together
   
   

 * The OnlyFans star who may be jailed for his nudes
   
   

 * Africa's top shots: From baptisms to card games
   
   

 * BBC Future: How we might build a food utopia
   
   




ELSEWHERE ON THE BBC

 * 'Sometimes you have to sacrifice your happiness'
   
   Olympian and world record holder Adam Peaty chats to Eddie Hearn
   
   

 * From eating crusts to hanging up horseshoes...
   
   Why are superstitions and old wives' tales so trusted?
   
   




MOST READ

 * 1Singer Meat Loaf dies aged 74
 * 2US plane turns around mid-flight over mask row
 * 3Urgent US-Russia talks amid Ukraine tensions
 * 4Tearful Adele postpones entire Las Vegas residency
 * 5False banana offers hope for warming world
 * 6Samsung pulls ad with drag queen after backlash
 * 7Many feared dead after huge explosion in Ghana
 * 8Infant among four dead found near US-Canada border
 * 9'If you protest again, we'll kill you'
 * 10Survivor tales emerge as aid reaches Tonga







BBC NEWS SERVICES

 * On your mobile
 * On smart speakers
 * Get news alerts
 * Contact BBC News

 * Home
 * News
 * Sport
 * Reel
 * Worklife
 * Travel
 * Future
 * Culture
 * Music
 * TV
 * Weather
 * Sounds

 * Terms of Use
 * About the BBC
 * Privacy Policy
 * Cookies
 * Accessibility Help
 * Parental Guidance
 * Contact the BBC
 * Get Personalised Newsletters
 * Why you can trust the BBC
 * Advertise with us
 * AdChoices / Do Not Sell My Info

© 2022 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read
about our approach to external linking.