Anti-migrant protests organiser racially abused woman on Gaza peace march

GUILTY: John Francis Gilling, left, and Karl Penn, arriving at an earlier hearing at Beverley Magistrates’ Court

EXCLUSIVE

By Simon Bristow, Co-Editor

An organiser of anti-migrant protests has been convicted of racially abusing a woman who was on a march calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, three weeks after the October 7 attacks on Israel.

A second man has been convicted of assault after striking her in the face during the same incident.

The victim, a clinical psychologist, was with her husband and about 100 other people on the march in Hull city centre on October 28, 2023.

John Francis Gilling, now 61, shouted a torrent of abuse from the open window of his white Skoda Yeti as he drove alongside the march in Paragon Street at about 12.30pm, including: “Fight your own war”, “F**k off back to Palestine”, and “F**k you, f**k you all”.

Gilling denied any wrongdoing and was tried at Beverley Magistrates’ Court yesterday. Giving evidence in his defence he said: “I think the timing of this event is crucial. This event was three weeks after October 7 when Jewish children were murdered and women were raped.

“We had just seen demonstrations across the country with people with fake parachutes on their backs mocking people in Israel. If this had been in January or February I might have had a different interpretation of it because of what’s happened since but at that time it was raw.”

Gilling, who told police his grandfather was a German-Jewish refugee, said he was particularly angered by the marchers chanting “From the river to the sea”, telling the court: “What that chant means is wipe out Israel so I was offended by that.”

“So what did you do?”, asked District Judge Jayne Bryan.

Gilling replied: “I did shout. I can’t remember swearing at all. It’s not my usual thing. I can remember being annoyed and saying what’s it got to do with us over here? What’s the point of protesting about something thousands of miles away in Hull? All it’s doing is offending other people and it’s holding people up.”

“Well this was just a protest and people are allowed to protest,” the judge said.

ORGANISER: John Francis Gilling, yellow vest, speaking at a protest in Queen Victoria Square, Hull, in July 2025

Gilling said: “But in real life other people do take offence to that and might get angry to that. There’s nothing personal between me and anybody else on that march.”

The judge reminded Gilling that bodycam footage from a PCSO who was policing the march recorded someone shouting “F**k Palestine”, and that the officer said it was Gilling. “The officer could have been mistaken,” he said.

The judge asked Gilling if he accepted that shouting “F**k Palestine” would have been racist as it was directed against a nationality or nation. Gilling said: “I don’t accept that would have been a racist comment because for me racism is about people. I’m certainly not a racist.”

He added: “I think we’ve got a lot of important things going on in this country that we do need to protest about.”

Gilling was reminded of the victim’s evidence that she had been frightened and distressed by the incident.

“If she was in a cafe or a shop…” said Gilling.

“She wasn’t in a cafe or a shop,” the judge said.

Gilling said: “When people are on political protests they need to realise not everybody is going to agree with them.”

“So it’s alright to shout abuse at them?” the judge asked. “I never said that,” said Gilling.

Gilling, who was in the car with two friends – Karl Penn, 52, and a man called Martin – said he was in the area looking for somewhere to park as they wanted to go to a pub before attending Hull City’s match against Preston North End that afternoon.

STRUCK WOMAN: Karl Penn

When the shouting from the car began a man on the march threw an opened plastic bottle of Oasis orange juice at the car, which went in through an open window.

Penn and Gilling then got out of the car. Gilling said he was in “fight or flight mode” and told the court: “When I was a kid my dad told me never show fear. Don’t show people you’re scared because if you show them you’re scared that’s when they take advantage of you, so I had to front it out.”

The victim, who gave evidence from behind a screen, objected to the march being described as a protest, saying: “It wasn’t a protest. It was a bunch of very sad people. People were crying.”

Asked how big the march was she said: “It was fairly big. It was a vulnerable-looking group, I would say. It did involve some families and younger males.”

She said when she heard shouting she stopped to look because she was “frightened about what was going to happen”. After the bottle was thrown she said “at least two men got out of the car and charged towards us”.

Asked by prosecutor David Camidge to describe their demeanour, she said: “Very aggressive, snarling facial expressions.”

The woman said she quickly decided to get between the men from the car and the other marchers to try to diffuse the situation as she “felt less vulnerable than the other people there”.

Asked why, she said: “I’m a white middle-aged woman with glasses so I didn’t think I was the target so I didn’t think anyone was going to hurt me.”

She said she stepped forwards with her hands up saying “No, no, no” and a man “sort of lunged towards me”. She said she thought the man who threw the bottle was behind her, and that was who the man from the car was trying to hit. “But what happened was I was hit on the top of my cheek and brow.”

She said her glasses were knocked off and damaged and she was left with bruising on the left side of her face down to her collar bone.

The woman identified Penn as the man who struck her to a police officer who arrived at the scene and he was arrested. As Penn was being led to a police vehicle he told the constable: “You don’t know what groups I’m part of. You will be all over the internet for this. You will be sorry.”

Penn, of Beverley Road, Hull, denied any wrongdoing. He wore a replica Hull City shirt to court which revealed part of a tattoo on his upper left arm that ended with the words: “Don’t you f**k with the master race.”

He had largely replied “no comment” in police interview but said CCTV would show “I have not assaulted anyone”. He also said he “was not racist and has Indian and Muslim friends”.

Giving evidence, Penn said he had seen the bottle being thrown in the car but had not heard any abuse from the vehicle as he was wearing headphones.

The court heard he had previous convictions for assault and racially aggravated offences, including assault of an emergency worker in 2019. Asked if some of the assaults were on his partner, Penn said: “Yes, it was an abusive relationship on both sides.”

Asked if he had strong views on the conflict in Gaza, Penn said: “Not really, no.”

Gilling, of York Road, Orchard Park, Hull, took the opportunity of giving a final statement to the court and said: “I feel I was the victim of crime that day. I was assaulted. We had a bottle thrown at us.

“Since then I’ve stood in two council elections and this case has been holding me back because the local press has been taking advantage of it and writing things saying I’m a racist when I haven’t even been convicted of it. It’s affected my family. I’ve got 16 Muslims in my family.

“This whole case is about someone driving a car, seeing a protest he didn’t agree with, expressing he didn’t agree with it, getting a bottle thrown at him and getting charged with racism and I’m not a racist.

“The tyrants and dictators in power are the ones to blame for everything in the world.”

Mr Camidge put it to Gilling that he had made the racist comments alleged, which he again denied.

TRIAL: Beverley Magistrates’ Court

Leaving the witness box Gilling said: “I think that man’s very nasty to people.”

“He’s just doing his job,” the judge said.

“Can I ring Karen?” asked Gilling.

“No. Sit down,” said the judge.

“I’m going to tell Karen what he said about me,” Gilling said.

Gilling was found guilty of using racially aggravated threatening words or behaviour causing harassment, alarm or distress.

Penn was found guilty of assault by beating and using threatening words or behaviour causing harassment, alarm or distress.

The judge said Penn’s striking of the woman was not intentional but he was guilty of assault on a reckless basis.

Sentencing was adjourned until October 15 for the preparation of pre-sentence reports and both men were released on unconditional bail.

Gilling asked if he would go to prison and the judge said she could make no promises but it was unlikely either man would receive an immediate custodial sentence.

Gilling has organised a number of anti-immigration and “Stop the Boats” rallies in Hull city centre under the banner of “Hull Patriotic Protesters”. One on August 3, 2024, billed as “vigil” for three girls murdered in Southport, was followed by riots.

The latest, on Saturday, September 5, caused the cancellation or movement of seven events planned as part of the city’s annual Freedom Festival.

The October 7 attacks by Hamas were the most deadly in Israeli history. More than 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage. More than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory offensive.