A man who was hailed a “hero” for fighting off the knife-wielding attackers during last year’s London Bridge attack has been spared jail for an Islamophobic rant at a Labour MP’s office.
Roy Larner, 48, shouted “fuck you, I’m Millwall” as he was stabbed repeatedly by the two perpetrators during the London Bridge and Borough Market attack on 3 June 2017, which left eight people dead and another 48 injured.
Larner was the last one to be attacked before the attackers were shot dead by police.
But as Larner recovered from his injuries, he launched an Islamophobic verbal attack at the offices of the Labour MP Neil Coyle.
Last week, a court heard that “on 13 July last year, the defendant entered the office of his Labour MP, Neil Coyle.
“He then spoke with a member of staff at the front door and said, ‘Sadiq Khan shouldn’t even be in the country”, and called him “a pile of s*it.'”
Jurors heard that he also told an Asian staff member “All Muslims are the same – scum”, before simulating a gun with a rolled-up newspaper.
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In a separate attack, which preceded the London Bridge attack by four months, Larner was caught on video spitting at a black photographer and launching into a verbal tirade in Elephant and Castle.
Prosecutors said Larner, who was walking his dogs at the time of the attack, was pushed to breaking point by protests against Brexit and U.S. President Donald Trump.
Prosecutor Carol Summers told the court that in the footage “He seems to be on the pavement and he says, ‘F*cking foreign c*nts.’
“He then leans towards the black photographer and spits at him; his head is seen to thrust forwards.
“The photographer says ‘Don’t spit at me,’ about three times and the defendant is saying, ‘Don’t take a picture of me, you c*nt.’
“The defendant then walks away to St Georges Road and turns back, shouting, ‘People like you stink, foreign c*nts, f*ck off”.”
Larner admitted racially aggravated common assault regarding the attack on February 20 and religiously aggravated harassment on July 13.
