Leeds man sentenced for antisemitic graffiti on Marks and Spencer
A man was yesterday sentenced at Leeds Magistrates’ Court for defacing a Marks and Spencer store with antisemitic graffiti in the city centre.
On 17 April 2022, Gregory Palmer, 60, of Bramley, Leeds, drew two Stars of David and an antisemitic slogan on the door of the Wellington Street store in felt tip pen.
He was sentenced to a 12-month Community Order with 105 hours of unpaid work, 20 Rehabilitation activity requirement days and total financial penalty of £614.
The case was prosecuted as an antisemitic hate crime, with prosecutors successfully applying for a sentence uplift due to the racial aggravation.
Ciara Riordan from the CPS said: “This was an abhorrent antisemitic hate crime. The CPS has an enormous amount of sympathy and concern for all victims of hate crime, and we take such offending extremely seriously.
“We successfully applied for a sentence uplift in the case, with Gregory Palmer receiving a 12-month Community Order with 105 hours of unpaid work. I hope this case demonstrates that this type of offending will not be tolerated.”
Lionel Idan, CPS Hate Crime lead said: “Bringing offenders who perpetrate antisemitism to justice is a priority for the CPS.
“Such vile acts have no place in society. I hope this conviction encourages more people to report all forms of hate crime in the knowledge that we will prosecute the perpetrators.”
Notes to editors
- Ciara Riordan is a Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS Yorkshire and Humberside.
- Lionel Idan is the CPS’s Hate Crime lead and the Chief Crown Prosecutor for London South.
- Crimes that are motivated wholly or partly by hostility or demonstrate hostility towards the victim of the offence based on that person's presumed race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or disability are eligible for an increased sentence.