BRITAIN: Jewish groups in Britain yesterday welcomed a six-year jail sentence handed to a 20-year-old racist for smashing gravestones of Holocaust survivors.
Simon Johnston caused an estimated £100,000 of damage in Witton Cemetery, Birmingham, before racially abusing three black men and a child in the street.
The defendant, a native of Northern Ireland, was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court. A welcome message on Johnston's mobile phone read: "Made in Ulster - Combat 18."
He admitted one charge of racially-aggravated criminal damage, two counts of racially-aggravated harassment and causing fear of violence at an earlier hearing.
His co-defendant, flatmate Carl Jones (24), failed to appear for sentence on racial abuse charges. A warrant for his arrest has been issued.
Mr Jon Benjamin, chief executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said the sentence should send out a clear message to perpetrators of anti-Semitic attacks. It follows figures released last week that showed the number of abusive or violent attacks on Jews in Britain reached record levels last year.
The Community Security Trust found there were 532 "anti-Semitic incidents" - defined as malicious acts towards the Jewish community - in 2004.
This represented a 42 per cent increase on the 375 anti-Semitic incidents recorded in 2003, and well exceeded the previous record of 405 in 2000.
Among the 532 incidents, were 83 physical attacks on Jews - up 54 per cent on the previous year - four of which were life threatening. The remainder were acts of abusive behaviour; name calling in the street, sending hate mail, or the desecration of property.