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Jury finds former Lib Dem mayor posted antisemitic tweets likely to stir up racial hatred
Pat Marsh called Jews “evil” and warned they would “pay”, in posts considered by York Crown Court in trial of the facts
A former Liberal Democrat mayor posted antisemitic messages about Jews likely to stir up racial hatred, a jury has found.
Pat Marsh, 78, who served as mayor of Harrogate and spent more than three decades in local politics, was the subject of a trial of facts at York Crown Court after being deemed physically and mentally unfit to enter a plea or give evidence because she has dementia.
Jurors concluded on Friday that Marsh had posted or distributed written material online which was likely to stir up racial hatred.
The court heard that one post from her X account read: “I hope you Jews feel proud of yourselves. Remember what happened to you during the Second World War. Why would you do the same?”
Another, posted in February 2024 and seen 875 times, said: “The whole world is silent. The Jews will pay for that.”
Marsh also referred to Jews as a “so-called religious group who are evil” and “a disgrace to the world” who “will pay”, the court heard.
Following the jury’s finding, Judge Sean Morris, the Recorder of York, gave Marsh an absolute discharge, saying it was the “only option” because of her current health.
A trial of facts does not result in a guilty or not guilty verdict. Instead, jurors are asked to decide whether a defendant who is unfit to stand trial carried out the acts alleged against them.
Marsh was arrested by North Yorkshire Police on 20 February 2024 after four members of the public reported posts made on X during previous months.
Police seized six electronic devices from her home, including several mobile phones and three laptops. Forensic examination found three X accounts on one of the laptops, the court heard.
Other posts described Jewish people as “horrendous” and claimed they “fund politics throughout the world”. One message about the war in Gaza stated: “This is atrocious and a war crime. No wonder people are becoming anti-Jewish.”
Prosecutor Ashleigh Metcalfe told the court that much of Marsh’s social media activity concerned Gaza and was “plainly anti-Israel”, but added: “Some of it was antisemitic.”
She said the posts conflated the actions of the Israeli government with Jewish people as a whole, including “Rabbis and Holocaust survivors”.
“We say it is racism and bigotry in the extreme,” Metcalfe told the court. “We say it is plainly insulting and abusive.”
Marsh, who represented the Stray, Woodlands and Hookstone ward, was suspended by the Liberal Democrats and resigned from North Yorkshire Council following the controversy in February 2024.
She had denied before being charged that her comments were antisemitic.
Her barrister, Eric Watson, accepted that evidence showed the posts existed and could be viewed online, but argued that this “does not by itself prove who published them.”
The jury of nine men and three women ultimately found that Marsh had posted or distributed the material and that it was likely to stir up racial hatred.
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