Man convicted over abusive flag message to MP

A man has been convicted of three offences after writing an abusive message to an MP on a St George's flag in York.

Lee Moran daubed the words "This one's for you Maskill (sic)" on the flag, in reference to York Central MP Rachael Maskell, before hanging it over the city walls near Walmgate Bar.

The 54-year-old said the misspelling of Maskell's name had been a deliberate "play on words" but denied it had been threatening or abusive.

His trial at York Magistrates' Court heard that when erecting the flag on 16 September last year, Moran had also shouted obscenities at a young woman who had tripped over and dislodged the flag poles.

The woman, a University of York student, told the court she had spotted Moran, of Brunswick Street, on the walls and he had been holding two flag poles that jutted into the walkway.

When getting past, she said she had tripped and heard the poles topple over, followed by the defendant following and shouting at her.

The young woman told the court Moran had sworn at her and "got in her face", making her fear she would be grabbed and thrown off the walls.

She said he had also repeatedly asked if she was racist.

He only stopped when a man distracted him by letting him know he had made a spelling mistake on the flag, which allowed her to leave and call the police, the court heard.

Moran argued the student had deliberately kicked his flag poles over and claimed he had not followed her nor sworn at her.

He admitted he had asked what her problem was and was she racist.

Judge Tan Ikram found the student to be consistent in her account and found Moran guilty of being abusive towards her, intending to cause fear of violence.

The defendant told the court the flag and its message had been a "protest" against the MP's call to remove flags put up on street furniture and lampposts in the city.

"It wasn't threatening or abusive, it was meant to wind up the left wing bubble in York who don't like the English flag," he said.

Moran claimed the use of "kill" in the flag had referred to Maskell being a "buzzkill" or a "killjoy" but others had "started a different narrative".

However, prosecutor Verity Barnes said the defendant had made this up in his police interview and he had used the language to provoke people in a busy public space.

After the flag was posted on Facebook, people asked Moran in the comments what he had meant by the misspelling and asked if it had it been a mistake.

He wrote: "Why would I tell you?"

The court heard he had proceeded to call Maskell an "English race hating b****" and say she "needs to f*** off back to where she came" or to "p*** off to one of the foreign countries she keeps trying to turn York into".

He denied this was grossly offensive, telling the court: "I intended to swear, I could be more offensive."

In a statement to the court, the MP said the flag "caused me to feel distressed with the threat of being a target in political violence".

She added: "It may not have had that intention but it could embolden others to think that way."

Judge Ikram told the court he was not passing judgement on people's right to fly flags.

However, he said the message on the flag had been "threatening and abusive and right-minded people would have seen it that way".

The judge found Moran guilty of displaying a threatening or abusive sign likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.

He also found him guilty of writing grossly offensive comments on Facebook.

Moran will be sentenced at York Magistrates' Court on 14 September.

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