03/09/2019
The author of "Punish a Muslim Day" hate mail, urging people to earn points by attacking and killing Muslims, has been sentenced to 12½ years for the two year hate campaign he launched.
A full chemical attack alert was triggered after David Parnham, who referred to himself as 'Muslim Slayer', sent fake poison to the Queen with a letter saying: "The Clowns R Coming 4 You".
He sent similar letters to then Prime Minister Theresa May, former prime Minister David Cameron, the Tory peer Lord Ahmed of Wimbledon, the Home Office, a number of mosques and two bishops.
He was also behind a the sending of 'Punish a Muslim Day' letters, encouraging people to attack and harm muslims.
Parnham also wrote to American white supremacist Dylann Roof, commending him for shooting dead nine black parishioners in Charleston in December 2016. In his letter, he said he said he wanted to kill ethnic minorities. He boasted of his hatred for muslims and of having sent white powder to mosques. He wrote, "I would like to kill its more of a sexual thing.... The idea of killing turns me on."
He was arrested by counter-terrorism police as part of an intelligence operation, due to evidence that included DNA, handwriting and fingerprints on the letters. He admitted 15 offences including solicitation to to murder, making hoaxes involving noxious substances and bombs and sending letters with intent to cause distress.
The 'Tell Mama' monitoring group conducted research which found that the 'Punish a Muslim Day' campaign sparked an increase in Islamophobic attacks.
There is no doubt that Parnham's extremism posed a serious terror threat in the UK and I am thankful that he has now been sentenced to a significant jail term. I would hope that he is only released from hospital or prison at the end of this term, if he is assessed and found to no longer pose a threat.
I would also hope that he is given sufficient anti-extremism education whilst incarcerated.
Such training should be mandatory for anyone who has committed a hate crime; whether this is based on religion, race, ethnicity, sexuality or gender orientation.
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