UK ex-barrister sentenced for blog posts: 'Nothing wrong with being antisemitic’

A disbarred UK barrister who posted antisemitic material on a blog was sentenced to a nine-month community order by the Southampton Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, the Crown Prosecution Service announced.

New Forest lawyer Ian Robert Millard, 67, posted disparaging remarks about Jews and antisemitic conspiracy theories from May 2021 to April 2022. Millard contended that he was exercising his freedom of speech.

“There is nothing wrong with being antisemitic,” Millard is alleged to have said in one post and, in another, that England would “be a great deal better” with more antisemitism. He also suggested that the Holocaust was “fake history.”

CPS and the Hampshire Constabulary said that they went through a year’s worth of blog posts, but only five antisemitic posts were found to violate the 2003 Communications Act.

UK police: Millard was "not simply expressing his freedom of speech"

Law enforcement argued that Millard was “not simply expressing his freedom of speech, but was engaged in a campaign of antisemitic hate.” The former attorney was found guilty in November.

“Antisemitism has a devastating impact on individuals and communities. We won’t hesitate to bring offenders of hate crime to justice,” said CPS Wessex Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor Sophie Stevens. “It is particularly shocking that a former barrister, who is meant to engage the law in the pursuit of justice, would express such flagrant hatred. We will continue to prosecute antisemitic offenders and bring the perpetrators of any hateful crimes to justice.”

CPS said it has prosecuted several cases of antisemitism since October 7, including one involving a man who shouted abuse at a Jewish man in Stamford Hill. In another incident, two teenagers damaged poppy wreaths at the Rochdale cenotaph while using antisemitic language.

An antisemitic Devon man was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison for encouraging terrorism online and possessing documents useful to a person seeking to engage in terrorism, the Winchester Crown Court ruled on Friday.

Harry Parris, 22, pleaded guilty to making inciting posts and collecting terrorist information on Telegram and BitChute. He committed the acts in Bittaford between 2019 and 2021, during the coronavirus pandemic. Parris was noted to suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

“You insulted many sections of society, including Jews, Christians, black people, Africans, gypsies, and those from east Asia,” said Judge Jane Miller. “You glorified the Nazis, suggesting all Jews and Gypsies should be exterminated.” 

Leon Kraiem contributed to this report.