| MacIntyre Responds To Supremacists’ Conviction |
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Investigative journalist and filmmaker Donal Macintyre thanks the police and welcomes their efforts in pursuing the prosecution of white supremacists. In a statement following the conviction 4th November, of five white supremacists in a trial at The Old Bailey - jailed for a total of 15 years for producing and distributing race-hate material, investigative journalist and filmmaker Donal Macintyre thanked the Police and welcomed their efforts in pursuing the prosecution following raids in London, Lincolnshire, Surrey, Bedfordshire and Greater Manchester. Articles found included abuse aimed at the police and praise for David Copeland the Soho Bomber, another threatened Macintyre, warning "RIP - a bounty is on his head, no stone will be left unturned". They also published vile racist abuse about murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence. MacIntyre was instrumental in the conviction of 3 members of Combat 18 in 2001, following his investigation of the Chelsea Headhunters - a result of the 1999 "MacIntyre Undercover" series. Earlier this year he was attacked whilst jogging, in an incident related to the same investigation by someone associated with the football hooligans and remains a constant target. His security is under on going review by the Metropolitan Police. The five, all members of the extreme right-wing Racial Volunteer Force, had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to publish a magazine called 'Stormer' with the intention of stirring up racial hatred. It included a step by step guide to making a nailbomb and a petrol bomb. The organisation, had got together to publish their hatred of non-whites and articles featured anti-Jewish headlines such as "Roast A Rabbi" and abuse offensive to blacks through the magazine and on the Internet. Max Hill, prosecuting, said that the RVF evolved from the violent Combat 18 group of racists and three editions of Stormer, with pages decorated with swastikas and foul language, were printed up to 2003. The third edition appeared to have been printed in Poland and transported to Britain, said Mr Hill. He described the magazine as "offensive, shocking and explicit". MacIntytre added, "Journalists should bear responsibility for the trustworthiness of their reports, and be allowed the freedom to gather information and disseminate the results of their professional investigations to the mass media. Persecution of journalists for publishing critical material is inadmissible." For further information please contact: Jayjay Epega Kay Breeze
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