Stoke on Trent election candidate arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred

BBC News reports on the arrest of a man on suspicion of inciting racial hatred after he distributed election campaign leaflets in Stoke referring to little girls being “gang-raped by Muslims”.

Craig Pond who is contesting the parliamentary seat of Stoke on Trent North as an independent candidate in the upcoming general election was arrested by police and released on bail after the leaflets came to light.

Pond is accused of inciting racial hatred with the leaflets which state, “Vote Labour, vote paedophile”. The leaflets also accuse the Labour party of displaying “disgusting and unforgivable behaviour toward our children”.

The issue of inflammatory leaflets inciting hatred being circulated during elections arose recently when a leaflet produced by Britain First for the Rochester by-election was refused distribution by Royal Mail. The postal service warned that the leaflet, which featured a woman in niqab and carried a message stating “no to mega-mosque”, breached the Representation of the People Act 1983. Royal Mail refused to carry the election mail saying it was entitled to refuse materials if it considered the contents to be illegal, “for example if it is threatening, abusive or insulting, or is intended to cause distress or anxiety.”

A report by the Parliamentary Inquiry into Electoral Conduct in 2013 highlighted a number of recommendations for the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Electoral Commission in relation to identifying and prosecuting those found to be in breach of the Public Order Act, Equalities legislation and the incitement to racial and religious hatred legislation. The report makes prolific mention of racial hatred but is scant in its reference to Islamophobia which is a cause for concern given the weaker legislative protection on incitement to religious hatred and the circulation of anti-Muslim election materials in the recent past.

Stoke on Trent North is currently served by incumbent Labour MP Joan Walley. The constituency has a total population of 96,715 of which 6% are Muslims, according to the 2011 Census.