A man has appeared in court charged with abusing members of the Orthodox Jewish community on a bus in north London. James Agius, 50, of Hackney, east London, is accused of making the comments in Stamford Hill on Thursday afternoon.
Agius was charged with religiously aggravated harassment and using threatening words or behaviour to cause harassment. He appeared at Thames Magistrates' Court on Friday and will stand trial at Stratford Magistrates' Court on June 15.
Chief Crown prosecutor Lisa Ramsarran said in a statement: 'The Crown Prosecution Service has decided to charge James Agius, 50, with religiously aggravated harassment and using threatening words or behaviour to cause harassment in connection with an incident where he was allegedly racially abusive towards members of the Orthodox Jewish community on a bus going through Stamford Hill on Thursday, 7 May.'
'Our team of out-of-hours prosecutors from CPS Direct worked to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring charges and it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings. We have worked closely with the Metropolitan Police as it has carried out its investigation.'
She added: 'We remind all concerned that proceedings against the defendant are active and that he has the right to a fair trial. It is vital that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.'
