James English has been found guilty of engaging in a course of behaviour which was abusive to his ex-partner following a 12-day trial
Podcaster James English has been convicted of domestic abuse against his former partner.
The court heard how the 43-year-old repeatedly attacked the victim between July 2022 and November 2023, with English being described as grabbing his ex by the neck and pinning her against a door while she was pregnant. The podcaster, who has interviewed the likes of Andrew Tate and Tommy Robinson, also reportedly slapped the victim and pulled her hair.
The pair had initially got together back in 2022, having met online, however, while English was “nice at first”, the court heard how things quickly grew violent. The victim, who has not been named, said that the first incident of abuse took place while the couple were in bed. She stated: “He said that he wanted a cuddle…I just said that I was feeling a lot of sick, just give me a minute.”
She said: “He kicked me off the bed to the side of my hip on the right side of my body as I was on the left side of the bed… It was quite forceful because I hit the wardrobe when I came off the bed”, as per The Daily Record.
The court heard how the violent episode continued after she left the room, with English grabbing her “by the shoulders” and “pushing her against a wall” with enough force to lift her “from [her] feet”.
The abuse reportedly continued after the victim became pregnant. In one later incident, English was described as taking “a firm hold” of her, and grabbing her by the neck.
According to the prosecution, English “seized her by the neck, compressed it and pinned her against a door. This first episode lasted 10 seconds. The woman told the court that she was petrified, just panicking and he was aggressive.”
The court also heard how English had struck “the woman’s face with an open hand”, and pulled her hair so hard that she lost balance.
English was also described as sending threatening and abusive messages to her, including one which read: “You absolute waste. Get a job and support your family”, another which read “slag”, “fat slag” as well as “little b****.”
Another message told to the court said: “You are lucky I never f***ing battered you.”
Sheriff Hall told the court: “I considered the victim to be credible and reliable. I am satisfied that it is appropriate to convict of parts of the charge.
“There was a lot of evidence that this relationship was on-off between them. It was to me a relationship that was destined to fail and it somewhat dragged on.”
Sentencing was deferred pending background reports until next month, and English’s bail was continued. The single charge included a total of 19 allegations and Sheriff Hall considered six of them to be proven. One allegation had been withdrawn mid-trial by the Crown.