Man who yelled “I’ll show you who Lee Rigby was” at assault victim sentenced to 10 years

The Stoke Sentinel reports on the trial of a racist thug who stabbed an Indian man in the neck with a knife before chasing him around a pub in Stoke while shouting “I’ll show you who Lee Rigby was”.

Brian Hughes, 35, knifed Josh Moore, who is of Indian descent, on Sunday 12 July 2015 after asking him if he knew Lee Rigby, the British soldier who was murdered outside Woolwich Barracks in May 2013. Mr Moore ran into a JD Wetherspoons pub to escape the assailant but was followed in by Mr Hughes who chased him around the pub four times and shouted, “You are going to know who Lee Rigby was”

Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard that Mr Hughes had become obsessed with far-right propaganda. Staffordshire Police found neo-Nazi and Taliban hunter memorabilia during a raid of his home. He also had a Nazi logo tattooed on his face but told police that he did not remember having it done.

Prosecutor Andrew Baker told Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court: “The defendant was holding an open penknife. He said, ‘Do you know who Lee Rigby is?’. Josh did not reply and was slightly stunned. At that point the defendant threw what Josh believed was a right hand punch to the side of his face. He thought it connected just below the right jaw and the blow caused him to stumble back. His friends were quite horrified by what happened. He looked at the man and saw a penknife with a three inch blade. His fist was clenched and the knife was held like a dagger. Josh feared for his safety and ran inside the pub followed by his friends. The man was shouting at them, ‘You are going to know who Lee Rigby was’. Josh was absolutely terrified and was chased around the pub three or four times. The defendant was described by staff as being on a mission to effect further harm on Josh. The defendant used further racist language and said, ‘I will be waiting for you outside’. He made further gestures indicating he was going to cause further harm before leaving.”

Mr Hughes was said to have walked up to a pensioner in the pub saying: “You ought to be proud to stand up and fight for your country”. He then went to a nearby pub and showed someone inside the knife before he was arrested.

Mr Moore needed medical assistance for injury and a stitch was applied to close the wound below the windpipe and jugular vein.

Prosecuting, Mr Baker added: “The potential for killing him was immense and it was only by sheer chance it did not take place.”

Mr Hughes pleaded guilty to wounding with intent and possessing an offensive weapon and was classed as a “dangerous offender”. He was handed an extended 10 year sentence, including five years in prison and five years on licence. He was also told to pay a £900 criminal court charge.

Judge David Fletcher told Mr Hughes: “It is good fortune on your part that this was not a more catastrophic injury or something worse. This was clearly racially or religiously aggravated.”

The incident appears to be another case of mistaken identity where the assailant believed the Indian man to be a Muslim based on his ethnic background. Only last week, a Sikh man was allegedly verbally abused and physically assaulted by a nightclub bouncer who mistook his turban for Islamic attire and called him a “Muslim terrorist”. Similarly, a Sikh dentist was brutally attacked with a machete in a Tesco supermarket aisle by a neo-Nazi who sought revenge for the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby.