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More on KentOnline
Far-right activists could be jailed for “abusing migrants” at the Port of Dover after making a "solemn promise" not to intimidate those disembarking.
Alan Leggett and Nigel Marcham are also banned from setting foot on the Eastern and Western Docks.
But Leggett, aka Active Patriot, and Nigel Marcham, aka Little Veteran, both prominent figures in their far-right circles, now plan to “get a fishing boat” and “sit in the Channel” to protest over crossings.
The duo appeared alongside other right wing activists at Canterbury Crown Court on Wednesday, with the Port of Dover seeking an injunction on the group.
They made a “solemn promise” not to intimidate asylum seekers or port staff, or enter the docks without permission.
It means they could be jailed for two years and face an unlimited fine if they breach the agreement under the contempt of court act, in a legally binding ‘undertaking’.
The move came following allegations the duo were persistently “abusing immigrants”, even having a “last hurrah” a day before court, the Port of Dover’s legal team argued.
“I wasn’t derogatory to any immigrants yesterday..."
But Leggett, who has 20,000 followers on Twitter and more than 50,000 on YouTube, protested “I wasn’t derogatory to any immigrants yesterday.”
After the judge threw out his application to have the press removed from court Leggett, representing himself, added: “I will sit in the middle of the Channel with a fishing boat.”
And after signing the agreement Leggett, of Cleethorpes, Grimsby, stormed out of the courtroom levelling an obscenity towards co-defendent Tracey Wiseman.
Also representing himself Marcham, wearing a military beret, said he will spend his days filming boats from other coastal locations.
When Judge Sarah Venn asked if he agreed to the terms of the undertaking, Marcham, of Thurston, replied: “I will take the undertaking mam, I do my filming up in the cliffs, I will be back next year doing what I do in the cliffs.”
Litigators told the court Wiseman should “stop trespassing” and highlighted evidence of her radical views.
She had been seen “shouting abuse and being confrontational,” they remarked.
“Wiseman shared something about New World Order and Eid should be banned,” they argued.
It was also pointed out Wiseman, a self-proclaimed ‘citizen journalist’, openly mixes with radicals having shared a photo captioned: “The gang together.”
“(She) would lead you to believe she is a neutral reporter - neutral reporters don’t go posing with well-known protesters,” the port’s defence team said.
“Any reporting is just live-streaming for the like-minded.”
But her barrister said Wiseman had never intimidated or harassed others, and was being marginalised for her political views.
Wiseman was often approached by bonafide journalists and the national press for statistics due to her journalism, her lawyer claimed.
By preventing her access from the dock “she won’t be able to do what she has done for years with a great passion,” the lawyer continued.
Judge Venn ruled Wiseman, of Leicester, could continue accessing the docks after she signed an undertaking promising not to “harass or intimidate”.
Steve Laws, a self-proclaimed patriot on Twitter, opted for a further court hearing instead of signing the undertaking.
Laws, who is from Kent, vehemently denied harassment and argued he is “an independent reporter” who is “being pushed out.”
Representing himself and appearing by videolink, he continued: “The press reach out for information (from me).
“My reports are used by thousands and thousands of people,” he said.
Judge Venn highlighted the signing of an undertaking is “not an admission of guilt.”
After the hearing Leggett took to Twitter to declare he was "well happy", adding: "don't know what you would call it but I call it another victory myself."
He vowed to take to the seas next year in a small boat to "catch migrants" but stressed the "gentleman's agreement" was not an "admission of guilt."
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