Man pleads guilty to assault on Muslim woman in Asda supermarket

The Chronicle reports on the court appearance of a man charged with racially/religiously aggravated common assault over an incident at an Asda supermarket in Gosport earlier this year.

Joseph Tudor, 36, pleaded guilty when he appeared before Newcastle Magistrates’ Court yesterday.

The court heard that Tudor launched an “abhorrent” attack on the Muslim victim, Ms Raja, as she shopped with her sister in the supermarket at around 9.40pm on 20 January.

Tudor called Ms Raja a “terrorist” before he shoved her in the shoulder causing her face veil (niqab) to fall away.

Tudor told Ms Raja “Get that off, you’re in the UK – have you not seen the news recently?

“There’s no place for burkas in this country.”

Ms Raja told police “her legs turned to jelly” during the incident saying she had been left with pain and discomfort in her shoulder as a result of the assault.

Police released CCTV images from the supermarket’s surveillance system appealing for information about the man seen entering the store around the time of the incident.

Prosecutor Alison Howey, told the court: “The victim says she remembers him using the word terrorist, but he says he can’t remember, and his recollection of the incident is not particularly clear.

“The victim says she was particularly concerned about what happened, she has never had this type of thing said to her before.

“It was extremely upsetting and shocking to be faced with this.”

Andrew Wigmore, mitigating, told the court Tudor was “very remorseful” over his actions and that his client suffered from “a multitude of problems” relating to anger, depression and anxiety.

The case has been adjourned until June 6 for a preparation of a pre-sentence report.