Online crowdfunding bid made to pay legal bills of man charged with George Galloway assault
An online crowdfunding drive has been launched to pay the legal bills of a man accused of assaulting MP George Galloway and another man last Friday evening.
Neil Masterson, 39, a former manager at the BBC, pleaded not guilty at Hammersmith magistrates court this afternoon over two charges of "religiously aggravated assault" against the MP and a bystander who were attacked in North London.
The prosecution told the court that Galloway was having a photo taken with the other man when Masterson approached, knocking the MP to the ground. He then carried out what was described as a "frenzied attack" punching Galloway around ten times while shouting obscenities, before fleeing, according to the prosecution.
Masterson was later arrested on a bus while wearing an Israeli Defence Force T-shirt, the court was told.
The fundraising page on website gofundme.com was launched yesterday and has already received donations of over $3,500 from 82 people towards its target of $10,000.
The organiser, who gives her name as 'Teresa Israel' and her location as Kentucky USA, said that while she doesn't support violence, she respected the accused for "allegedly standing up for Israel."
Defence counsel for Masterson told the court his client admitted his "involvement in the incident" but denied it was religiously motivated.
The court was told that the attack was motivated by Galloway's views on the Israel Palestinian conflict which the defendant believed were "anti-Semitic." The three magistrates decided they did not have sufficient sentencing powers to deal with the case and it was referred to the Crown court.
Masterson, who the court was told has volunteered to do work for the Conservative party, was denied bail and remanded in custody until 15 September.