JONES: ACCUSED MOSQUE ATTACKER WAS TRYING TO ‘DIFFUSE’ SITUATION

A teenager accused of taking part in a racist attack on a mosque claimed he was helping out a friend who had been attacked by ‘Asian males’, a court heard.

Eliot Jones, 21, is said to have been part of a gang of thugs who launched bricks at the Redbridge Islamic Centre in Ilford.

He and five others are alleged to have taunted worshippers arriving for evening prayers with sickening racist chants before trying to storm the building.

The building’s front window was smashed and the imam was hit by a brick as he tried to pursue them following the March 24 attack, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.

One gang member, aged 16, repeatedly screamed ‘EDL’ in reference to the far right organisation, jurors have been told.

But, giving evidence, Eliot Jones, said the first he saw of any violence was ‘Asian males’ attacking his friend Rocky Beale, 21, with an iron bar.

‘I turned back, I realised Rocky Beale was in some sort of trouble, being attacked by a group of Asian males,’ he said.

He had ‘tried to diffuse the situation’ and asked what was going on, he added.

He gave a false name on arrest and later told police that he sympathised with EDL, saying: ‘I understand they are against fundamentalism in all forms’.

Jones is said to have taken part in the attack together with his brother Ryan Jones, 23, Beale, Daniel Leal, 19, and Matthew Stephenson 18.

A 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is also alleged to hae been involved.

Five nearby parked cars and a number of neighbouring homes were also damaged before the gang arrived at the mosque, Ms Oon said.

During the trial, all six defendants have denied taking part in any attack on the mosque of those inside it.

Beale accepted he had thrown a brick at a Mercedes in Eastern Avenue.

He was arrested after a struggle, when he appeared to be trying to get at a group of Asian men standing nearby, shouting ‘Come on you Paki c**ts’ and ‘I’m going to get out and f**k you all up’.

Ryan Jones and Matthew Stephenson were both charged after witnesses said there were six people involved in the attack, though there was little direct evidence against them, Judge Timothy King told jurors in his summing up.

Both denied being involved, as did Daniel Leal, who was picked out at an ID parade.

Blood found on both a car and at the mosque matched the 16-year-old youth, and a crime scene expert said it had been ‘splashed’ onto surfaces, possibly because he was throwing objects towards the surfaces.

The youth denied attacking the mosque or cars, and said he had been hit by an iron bar by a group of Asian males.

Beale, of (50) Purleigh Avenue, Woodford Green, Essex, Eliot and Ryan Jones, both of no fixed address, Leal, of (84) Queenborough Gardens, Ilford, Matthew Stephenson, of (67) Burrow Road, in Chigwell, and the 16-year-old all deny violent disorder.

The trial continues.