Victim of Racially Aggravated Attack Expresses Desire to Depart UK

A court was informed that a pizza shop proprietor expressed a desire to depart from the UK subsequent to experiencing racist abuse during an assault on his establishment. Teesside Crown Court heard that the shop became a target following the assembly of a group comprising up to 30 young individuals in Willington, Durham, in August, amidst a period of extensive public unrest. Leah Lee, aged 19, threw rocks towards the shop, subsequently breaking a window with a brick and uttering a racial slur. Lee pleaded guilty to racially aggravated criminal damage; concurrently, the prosecution accepted a plea of not guilty to violent disorder. In a statement presented to the court, the victim declared: “I feel as though I have been bullied racially and do not wish to live in this country.” Omar Ahmad, acting as prosecutor, stated that Lee subsequently threw a wheelie bin towards law enforcement officers and had concealed her face with a mask. Judge Jonathan Carroll characterized her actions as “part and parcel of what is generally referred to as the summer riots,” describing it as “politically motivated violence.” Public disorder erupted nationwide subsequent to the fatal stabbing of three girls in Southport. The judge remarked, “We live in a multi-racial society and we have to learn to live side by side.” He further stated, “Throwing bricks through shop windows and hurling insults because of the colour of his skin will attract a custodial sentence.” During mitigation, it was contended that Lee, residing at Hall Lane Estate, Crook, had already spent approximately three months in custody since her apprehension. The judge concurred with her immediate release and issued a nine-week prison sentence, which was suspended for two years.