Man who shouted “go home you f***ing foreigner” sentenced for racist abuse

The Scotsman newspaper reports on the sentencing of an ice cream salesman after he was convicted of shouting racist abuse at a Muslim doctor in Edinburgh.

Edward Barr, 49, appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last month in connection with the incident which happened on 8 July 2015.

The court heard that Mr Barr has parked his ice cream van in Professor Waleed Bin Rashid’s driveway just as Professor Bin Rashid was seeking to move his car out.

Professor Bin Rashid told the court that he beeped his car horn to get Mr Barr’s attention but his signal was ignored.

Professor Bin Rashid said that he then got out of his car and “asked him politely to move but again he just ignored me and carried on serving.

“I took my phone out to take a picture of the van but he soon started shouting “go home you f***ing foreigner” at me,” he said.

A neighbour who overheard Mr Barr abuse Professor Bin Rashid told the court “[T]he van driver was being very unpleasant and abusive. The guy said ‘f*** off, go back to your own country’ and also called him ‘a Paki c**t’.”

Mr Barr denied using racist language but Sheriff William Taylor found him guilty of acting in racially aggravated manner and uttering racially offensive remarks.

Mr Barr was sentenced on Friday 15 July. Sheriff Taylor sitting at Edinburgh Sheriff Court sentenced him to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work in the community.