Lawyers have insisted that the acquittal of a suspended Labour councillor for encouraging violent disorder should not be compared to the case of a woman jailed for inciting racial hatred, amid claims of “two-tier justice”.
Ricky Jones, 58, was cleared by a jury at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday after he told an anti-racism rally in Walthamstow, east London, that far-right activists were “disgusting Nazi fascists” and said “we need to cut all their throats”. The verdict prompted criticism from Conservative and Reform politicians, including shadow home secretary Chris Philp and former home secretary Sir James Cleverly, who compared it to the case of Lucy Connolly.
Connolly was jailed for 31 months last year after pleading guilty to inciting racial hatred by publishing a post on X that called for “mass deportation” of asylum seekers and to “set fire to all the f****** hotels”. Lawyers, however, said the two cases involved different allegations and different legal processes.
Peter Stringfellow, a solicitor at Brett Wilson, told the PA news agency: “They were facing completely different allegations and a massive part of those different allegations is the racial element. If you look at the Connolly case … her intention is of a racial nature.” He added that Connolly had admitted her intent, while Jones had denied that he intended to incite violence.
Ernest Aduwa, a partner at Stokoe Partnership Solicitors, said comparisons were “misplaced”. He said: “A jury listened to the evidence, tested it and decided unanimously he was not guilty. That is not bias or ‘two-tier justice’ – it is the justice system doing what it is supposed to do: separating facts from noise.” He noted that Connolly had pleaded guilty and faced no trial, while Jones faced a different charge with a high burden of proof.
The lawyers also noted that violence followed Connolly’s comments, with attempts to burn people in hotels, whereas Jones’s remarks at the rally did not lead to violent disorder.
