British Singer and Radio Host Warned He Faces Jail for Spreading Anti-Jewish ‘Racial Hatred’
by Shiryn Ghermezian
The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales in London, UK. Photo: Ben Sutherland / Wikimedia Commons.
A radio host and singer in the United Kingdom who pleaded guilty to spreading racial hatred that targeted Jews has been warned that he may face time in prison.
Graham Hart, 69, of Penponds, near Camborne in Cornwall, pleaded guilty on Monday to eight counts of “produc[ing] a program in service with intent or likely to stir up racial hatred” at Truro Crown Court on Monday. The charges are related to comments he made between 2016 and 2020, which Stephen Silverman from Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) said “constitute some of the most extreme hatred towards Jews that we have ever encountered.”
Silverman added, “It is vital that the Jewish community is protected from this man, and we hope that the sentence will also send a message to like-minded people that hate towards British Jews will not be tolerated.”
Hart released a song called “Hoax Train” that appeared to question the Holocaust to the tune of “Love Train,” the UK’s Jewish News. The BBC said his music was also banned by the Cornish Pirates rugby team in March 2019 after he was accused of antisemitism regarding lyrics of a song he published on YouTube.
Judge Robert Linford released Hart on bail and banned him from using the Internet. The judge scheduled a sentencing hearing for August 6, pending a psychiatric report, and warned Hart that he “should anticipate an immediate sentence of imprisonment” when he returns to court.
Hart’s lawyer, Mary McCarthy, argued in court that Hart has allegedly been “exhibiting signs of being quite unwell for a number of years.” She added that her client “accepts racial hatred was likely to be stirred up but this was effectively him mouthing off rather than setting to bring about any particular outcome.”
The latest charges against Hart follow an investigation by CAA, which sparked a police probe. Hart was also charged in March with five counts of intending to stir up racial hatred with offending words or behavior in a radio program.
