Man who brought knife to mosque in hate crime incident jailed

A man who attacked a member of a group of worshippers who were praying outside a mosque has been jailed.

Callum Mcinally, 29, of Waverley Road in Southsea, Portsmouth has today been sentenced to 20 months imprisonment after previously admitting the racially motivated crimes at his first hearing on 2 September.

The incident, which took place on 31 August at the Portsmouth Jami Mosque, saw Mcinally shouting verbal abuse whilst he approached a small group of men, women and children who were praying.

After a man from the group asked Mcinally to leave them alone, Mcinally punched him to the chest, kicked a prayer mat and shouted racial abuse.

Mcinally later returned and pulled out a knife, which he discarded and ran away once he heard police sirens.

Harvey Withecombe, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “We ensured that Callum Mcinally appeared before the court straight away. The sentence handed today, after the Crown Prosecution Service successfully applied for a hate crime uplift, proves there is nowhere to hide for those who are intent on spreading hate, malice and prejudice in our communities.

“We will continue to act swiftly and robustly regarding these cases and ensure those responsible for such crimes in our communities are brought to justice.”