🔴 TRUTH BEHIND THE 18-MONTH SENTENCE FOR 33-VIEW TWEETS

Luke Yarwood, 36, ( DOB 20/05/1988 ), of Burton, near Christchurch, Dorset, has been sentenced to 18 months’ immediate imprisonment at Bournemouth Crown Court following the publication of two posts on the social media platform X.
The defendant was convicted under the Public Order Act 1986 for stirring up racial hatred after responding to a car attack in Germany with calls to "burn" migrant hotels and "start the slaughter" against MPs and Parliament.
The prosecution, led by Siobhan Linsley, successfully argued that while the specific illegal posts garnered only 33 views, they were part of a month-long pattern of activity between December 21, 2024, and January 29, 2025.
Despite defence submissions that Yarwood was a "socially isolated" man with "fragile mental health" whose rants had no real-world consequences, Judge Jonathan Fuller ruled the content was designed to incite violence.
This sentencing has immediately triggered widespread claims of "two-tier justice" across digital platforms, with critics comparing the 18-month term to shorter sentences handed out for physical violent offences.
However, the prevailing narrative that this disparity is a result of political bias ignores the specific legislative mechanics of the UK’s sentencing guidelines and the statutory definition of race.
The legal reality is that the Public Order Act 1986 explicitly includes nationality within its definition of a "racial group," alongside colour, race, and ethnic or national origins.
By targeting "immigrants" and "asylum seekers," Yarwood’s actions were legally classified as inciting racial hatred, a "special category" offence that carries significantly higher sentencing starting points than standard incitement to violence.
So the problem here is simply one word:
that is included in the UK legal definition of Racism and nothing else.
You can read our full Access to Law Legal explainer in our previous article:
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