We all looked on horrified as this morning's events unfolded. We knew he was going to do it, he told as much beforehand. Yet still, deep down we didn't believe it. It took that first image on Twitter for us actually to believe that yes, Willie Frazer has indeed turned up to a British court of law dressed as Abu Hamza. The horror quickly turned to laughter as the news spread quickly on social media and the bizarre media circus was shared far and wide. The occasion was so bizarre that Willie achieved what we think he had hoped for. The spectacle has gone national, with Channel 4 news running the story. Yet again Northern Ireland has been thrust onto the national stage and yet again we are left looking like the sadly ridiculous drunk relative at a wedding who makes a total arse of themselves.

Now the dust has settled and the laughter has (partially) abated, the initial horror has returned. Just why would Willie Frazer and his cohorts wish to cause such a scene? Willie explained things in his own unique manner outside the court today. "The law that they are trying to charge me with was brought out to deal with extreme Muslims", Willie claimed. "Who do they charge? The first man charged in the United Kingdom is a protestant from Northern Ireland"[1], he boldly asserted. These are very serious and daring claims to make. They are also untrue, and have been fabricated for no other reason than to enable Willie to create a media circus.

Let's take a look at Willie's claims in a little more depth:


The Facts:
The offences to which Willie refers are those covered by the Serious Crime Act 2007. Sections 44-46 of this act deal with encouraging or assisting an offence[2]. These sections have slight differences from one another but together they replaced the more commonly known offence of incitement in England, Wales and Northern Ireland[3]. These sections were not introduced specifically to deal with Muslim extremists. The truth is that these offences were already partially covered in some form by prior incitement law.

"The first man charged in the United Kingdom is a protestant from Northern Ireland"

The Facts:
Willie Frazer is not the first man to be charged under these offences in the United Kingdom. Sections 44-46 of the Serious Crime Act have been applied in a number of different cases. There are too many to fully research and list here, however we have included a few below to highlight the absurdity of Willie's claims.

Amed Pelle was jailed for 33 months after pleading guilty to a breach of section 44. Pelle had used Facebook to encourage other to commit offences during riots in Nottingham. [4][5][6]

Jordan Blackshaw and Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan were jailed for offences under sections 44 and 46 of the Serious Crime Act at Chester Crown Court. These offences were linked to encouraging offences during rioting. [7]

Jake Davis from Shetland, and Ryan Cleary from Essex were both charged with offences under sections 45 and 46 of the Serious Crime Act. Their charges were related to computer hacking. [8][9]

Omar Sadique was convicted at Maidstone Crown Court of assisting in the supply of controlled drugs contrary to section 46 of the Serious Crime Act 2007. [10]

David Wain was jailed for offences under sections 44-46 of the Serious Crime Act in relation to the supply of chemicals and drugs. [11]

In Summary

The cases listed above show that Willie Frazer was lying about his motivation in dressing as a Muslim cleric today. What was his real motivation? If we were to hazard a guess it would be that Willie wanted to create a media frenzy to attract attention and to keep himself where he feels he belongs, in the spotlight. One thing is certain, his actions were decidedly racist and contrary to his vocal demands for civil and human rights. Surely the time has come for this man to fade into obscurity?


1. http://www.u.tv/News/Frazer-appears-at-court-as-Abu-Hamza/c5e6e96c-9959-4fbf-b43f-8f01f2fab11e 
2. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2007/27/part/2/crossheading/inchoate-offences
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serious_Crime_Act_2007#Encouraging_or_assisting_crime
4. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2029920/UK-riots-Teenager-urged-Facebook-friends-kill-million-police-jailed.html
5. http://www.nottinghampost.com/Riot-teen-locked/story-13209179-detail/story.html
6. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-14508966
7. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-14557772
8. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/9354188/LulzSecs-Ryan-Cleary-admits-hacking-into-CIA-and-the-Pentagon.html
9. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2164504/LulzSecs-Ryan-Cleary-Jake-Davies-admit-hacking-CIA-UK-s-Serious-Crime-Agency-websites.html
10. http://cases.iclr.co.uk/nxt/gateway.dll/WLR%20Dailies/WLRD%202011/wlrd2013-269?f=templates&fn=document-frame.htm&vid=PoC:Sum
11. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-11972945