As published by Neil Johnston, Midlands Correspondent; Friday January 07 2022, 12.01am GMT, The Times
A neo-Nazi who was told to read classic literature after being convicted of a terrorism offence has impressed the sentencing judge by telling him that he “enjoyed Shakespeare more than Jane Austen”.
Ben John, 21, whom police described as a white supremacist, was given a two-year suspended prison sentence at Leicester crown court last August. He was found guilty by a jury of possessing a record of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.
The charge, which has a maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment, was brought following the discovery on a computer of a publication containing diagrams and instructions on how to construct various explosive devices.
Judge Timothy Spencer QC concluded that the former student’s crime was likely to be “an act of teenage folly” and an isolated offence and imposed a five-year serious crime prevention order. He described John as “a lonely individual with few if any true friends”. The judge made John promise him not to research any more right-wing materials and then asked him: “Have you read Dickens? Austen? Start with Pride and Prejudice and Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities. Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Think about Hardy. Think about Trollope. On January 4 you will tell me what you have read and I will test you on it. I will be watching you, Ben John, every step of the way. If you let me down you know what will happen.”
At a review hearing yesterday Spencer asked John to write down the books he had read. “It is clear that you have tried to sort your life out,” the judge said. “I would like to know what you have read of the classic literature you told the jury you were interested in.”
John said: “I enjoyed Shakespeare more than I did Jane Austen but I still enjoyed Jane Austen [to] a degree.”
Spencer said “Well, I find that encouraging”, adding that he acknowledged that “publicity of this case” had affected John’s rehabilitation. He must attend court again in six months when the judge will check his progress. Spencer said that he had been encouraged by John’s “efforts to seek employment”.
Suella Braverman QC, the attorney-general has asked the Court of Appeal to review the “unduly lenient” sentence.