Man charged with assaulting ex-mayor Lilian Seenoi-Barr

A man has been charged with assaulting a woman - who was Northern Ireland's first black mayor- at the opening of a café run by a migrant charity.

Stephen Nigel Thompson, 28, from Spencer Road in Londonderry, is accused of assaulting Lilian Seenoi-Barr, a former Mayor of Derry, as well as two other people including a 15-year-old girl, at the North West Migrant's Forum event on Saturday.

He has also been charged with possessing material likely to cause fear and distress, publishing such material and engaging in behaviour likely to stir up hatred.

Appearing at Londonderry Magistrates' Court on Monday, Thompson was remanded in custody to appear again on 20 July.

The court heard Seenoi-Barr had been addressing a crowd of about 60 people at the event at about 11:00 BST on Saturday in the Embassy Building in Derry, when Thompson was said to have entered.

He refused to sign in, the court was told, and "barged" past a 15-year-old.

Inside the gathering the defendant was said to have started shouting about grooming gangs and Pakistanis and handed out leaflets.

When asked to leave by Seenoi-Barr, a current SDLP councillor in the city, he was said to have moved towards her causing her to feel intimidated.

The court was told that people were "distressed and terrified" before Thompson was escorted from the premises.

Police were called and after being shown video footage taken on a phone went to Thompson's address.

At interview the defendant said he was protesting legally against illegal immigrants and he didn't accept anything on the leaflets was offensive.

A defence solicitor said the leaflets Thompson handed out contained material from a report by the Restore Britain MP Rupert Lowe on grooming gangs.

He said his client was "highly critical" of almost every body in the country including the judiciary and the NHS and that he believed First Minister Michelle O'Neill was going to be present.

Thompson, his solicitor added, further believed Stormont had failed on the immigrant issue.

Refusing bail, deputy district judge Sean O'Hare said Thompson did not accept his leaflets were "offensive and provocative" or that people at the gathering would be "shocked and horrified."

He said if the defendant did not accept he did anything wrong there was a chance he would do it again.