'White supremacist' in court over alleged racist and anti-Semitic podcasts

18 August 2021, 23:02

By Nick Hardinges

@NHardinges

A man will face trial for allegedly creating a website named "Radio Aryan" to distribute racist and anti-Semitic podcasts.

James Allchurch, 49, has been accused of using the site to regularly upload proscribed content, such as posts about black and white people in the UK being in a state of race war.

It is also claimed the defendant posted material including racist tropes about Jewish people.

He appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates' Court in Pembrokeshire dressed in a white hazmat suit, visor, face mask and sunglasses.

Allchurch, of no fixed address but originally from the county, asked to be referred to as "Sven Longshanks".

The alleged white supremacist denied 15 counts of distributing a sound recording stirring up racial hatred under section 21.1 of the Public Order Act 1986 on or before November 2019.

Radio Aryan had been operating from 2015, the court heard, and 12 of the charges relate to material allegedly offensive to people from black or ethnic minority communities.

The remaining three relate to podcasts said to be anti-Semitic.

When asked by deputy chief magistrate Tan Ikram why he wanted to change his name, Allchurch said: "This is my life's work that is on trial and that's the name that my work is published under."

Representing Allchurch, Kevin Smallcombe said the issues in the case would be "academic research, freedom of speech and journalism".

The case has been sent to Swansea Crown Court, where a plea and trial preparation hearing will be heard on 15 September.

Allchurch was granted unconditional bail until that date.