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Britain First supporter who drove van at Muslim restaurant owner walks free

Britain First supporter who drove van at Muslim restaurant owner walks free

Categories: Latest News

Wednesday January 17 2018

A Britain First supporter who drove his van at a Muslim restaurant owner in London last year will walk free despite being handed a jail sentence.

Marek Zakrocki, 48, was sentenced to 33 weeks in prison for admitting offences of dangerous driving, drunk driving and battery, but will be released due to the length of time he already spent in custody.

Zakrocki, from Poland, gave a Nazi salute and shouted “white power” before driving his van at businessman Kamal Ahmed outside the Spicy Night restaurant in Harrow in north-west London.

Zakrocki carried out the attack on June 23rd, coinciding with the first anniversary of the Brexit vote.

The Old Bailey in London heard that the incident started when Zakrocki argued with his wife and grabbed her arm after drinking two bottles of wine at home. He then told his wife and daughter he intended to attack a religious building with the aim of hurting Muslims.

His daughter then contacted police, who attended the family home. Police used his wife’s phone to call Zakrocki, who told an officer, “I’m going to kill a Muslim. I’m doing it for Britain. This is how I’m going to help the country. You people cannot do anything.”

Zakrocki, a window-fitter, then went to a local shopping centre where witnesses saw him driving around shouting “white power”. He then entered the shopping centre and pushed an unidentified Asian man. 15 minutes later, Zakrocki drove to the Spicy Night restaurant and parked outside, before entering into an argument with Mr Ahmed, the owner.

Zakrocki then used his van as a weapon, mounting the pavement twice in an attempted to effectively pin Mr Ahmed against the restaurant window, which subsequently smashed.

Zakrocki tried to flee the scene but his van was apprehended by armed police. They found the perpetrator in possession of a kitchen knife and a baton-torch, along with a Nazi coin. Officers also found a stash of Britain First literature at Zakrocki’s home.

Zakrocki was initially charged with attempted murder and three racially aggravated offences, but those were dropped by the CPS. Further charges of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm and having a knife in a public place were allowed to lie on file.

Zakrocki, who appeared in court via video link from Wormwood Scrubs, was sentenced to 32 weeks in prison for dangerous driving, one week for the offence of battery against his wife and six weeks for drink driving. The six week term was ordered to be concurrent, meaning his total sentence was 33 weeks.

Having been in remand since June, this meant Zakrocki had already served his time behind bars. Case officer DC Georgina Acuna commented that she “was expecting a longer custodial sentence.”

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