An Asian man who posed as a far-right hooligan on Telegram in order to lure the English Defence League into a riots ambush has been jailed for more than two years.
Ehsan Hussain used the ‘white name’ Chris Nolan to go undercover online and lure the EDL into an ambush in Birmingham.
Hussain, who is a chef from the city’s Pakistani community, posted a series of ‘vile’ racist messages calling for disorder in areas of the city with a large Muslim population, as riots spread across the country last month.
The 25-year-old used the fake name to post in a Telegram group which was set up by the far-right to plot disorder in the wake of the Southport murders. It had more than 12,000 members.
His messages included ‘Awesome, Saltley Gate tomorrow we doing p*** bashing’ and `Birmingham first! We need to take back whats ours’, according to prosecutors.
Ehsan Hussain (pictured) used the ‘white name’ Chris Nolan to go undercover online and lure the EDL into an ambush in Birmingham
Masked men could be seen gathered around a Birmigham McDonalds on August 5
Others read: ‘It’s all about the kids, we are doing this for the kids’ and that he was ‘sick of these smelly scumbags’.
He shared a news clip of disorder at McDonald’s in Bordesley Green saying: ‘P***s f****** everywhere’ and that once Alum Rock had been ‘conquered’, they would ‘take on’ Bradford.
Messages from the ‘Southport Wake Up’ Telegram group were screenshotted and circulated widely on social media, leading a huge counter-protest to gather last month to defend the area from a perceived racist threat.
No such protest ever materialised and the night instead saw scenes of violent disorder among the counter-protesters, culminating in a pub in the Yardley area being attacked by a mob.
Hours after his messages, disorder broke out in the mentioned areas, which saw a pub and a passing coach attacked, ambulances diverted away from the nearby Heartlands Hospital to other A&E departments and shops and GP surgeries forced to shut.
But Hussain was no far-right extremist and had infiltrated the group to ‘deceive’ EDL supporters by convincing them to march into an area where they would be outnumbered.
Crowds gathered at Bordesley Green McDonalds, with some filming on their phones
Peter Grieves-Smith, prosecuting, told a sentencing hearing at Birmingham Crown Court that the violence seen in east Birmingham on August 5 was a ‘consequence’ of the messages Hussain had sent.
‘They were designed to deceive far-right protesters to go to areas where they would face significant opposition,’ he said.
The prosecutor said messages had been recovered from Hussain’s phone which showed he was contacted by another user, who had told him: ‘Change your name to a white name and go undercover.
‘You will be surprised how thick these f****** are.’
Mr Grieves-Smith said several individuals from the Asian community were ‘using different names to appear to be on the side of the far-right and the defendant played his role’.
One man set off a flare at the Birmingham McDonalds as crowds gathered in August
West Midlands Police said it was ‘clear’ there were individuals at the initial gathering who had face coverings and were acting ‘in an antisocial manner’
‘It was all creating an atmosphere in which violence was to be promoted and was encouraging people to come to the Alum Rock area, knowing there would be people in the Alum Rock area to respond,’ he said.
More than 4,000 of the Telegram group’s members were said to have been online when Hussain was posting his messages.
Defence barrister Rag Chand said Hussain – who is married and worked in the family takeaway business – had suffered from a ‘colossal collapse of common sense and reason’.
‘He is desperately remorseful,’ he continued.
Mr Chand said Hussain was clearly not a ‘particularly sophisticated’ criminal as he had made no effort to get rid of his phone after posing his messages.
Hussain claimed during an earlier hearing that he was trying to ‘take a poke’ at other far-right members of the Telegram group because he had been shocked by their messages.
A resident of South Yardley, his home on Coventry Road is close to the areas of east Birmingham which were purportedly being targeted by the far-right – Alum Rock and Bordesley Green.
Hussain pleaded guilty last week at the city’s magistrates’ court to distributing ‘threatening, abusive or insulting’ written material intending to stir up racial hatred between August 3 and 6.
Judge Melbourne Inman KC said the Telegram chat was populated ‘by those who hold extreme right-wing and racist views’, with Hussain using a pseudonym to incite members to attend areas of the city with a significant Muslim population where they ‘would be met with violence themselves’.
Trouble flared after the far-Right failed to materialise, with some armed thugs in the group instead attacking cars, chasing journalists and later descending on a pub in the Yardley area
In a separate chat with someone else, Hussain appeared to admit what he had done and encouraged them to fool the extreme right by using a ‘white name’ to become part of the group and that ‘he would be surprised how thick they are’.
Rag Chand, mitigating, said the defendant was ‘desperately remorseful’ for what he had done.
He said: ‘On any view, this was a colossal collapse of common sense and reason by this defendant and it seems to be at odds with what we know about him.
‘His actions demonstrate an immaturity below his actual age. The offending could not be described as particularly sophisticated – he used his own mobile phone and there was no attempt to dispose of it.
‘He has a number of positive references which demonstrate his true character. They allude to his charity work and they demonstrate someone who is loyal, hardworking, responsible and a vital part of the family-run takeaway business.
‘He accepts completely that what he did was ridiculous to say the least and he is not proud of himself.’
Addressing Hussain, who sat in the dock wearing a grey T-shirt, Judge Inman said he had used ‘vile racist language under the pretence of sharing such views and encouraging others to come to Alum Rock for violence, where they would themselves be met with violence’.
He said: ‘Sadly, this is one of a number of cases this court has had to deal with arising from the civil unrest following the tragic events in Southport.
‘Some people used that tragedy as an opportunity to sow division and hatred, often using social media, which led to a number of towns and cities up and down the country being disfigured by mindless and racist violence, intimidation and damage.
‘You identify yourself as a Pakistani male – your own personal views appear to be wholly against those members of that chat group.
‘You used a pseudonym and it’s clear you intended to incite others to attend areas of the city and intending they would be met with violence themselves. There are suburbs of this city with a multicultural society and a significant number of Muslims.
‘It is a serious aggravating factor that the timing of this was at the time of a very sensitive social climate.
‘It was obvious to all that copycat exercises for violence were occurring up and down the country.
‘You were no doubt not alone in fuelling the hatred and unrest, but your actions played their part in the resulting violence and disorder hours later.’
Judge Inman said Hussain would serve half of his sentence in prison and the other half on licence and ordered that the phone he used to send the messages was destroyed.
West Midlands Police said they were made aware ‘that a member of the public who is unrelated to Hussain was wrongly identified on social media as being the source of the messages’.
That man has been spoken to by officers and is being supported, according to the force.