Met officers identify man who made threatening calls to mosque

A man has been sentenced for making threatening phone calls to Finsbury Park Mosque following a Met Police investigation.

Lee Harper, 47 (20.05.77) of Hornsey, appeared before Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 10 March, where he was sentenced to 10 weeks' imprisonment, suspended for 18 months.

The Met began investigating Harper after a member of Finsbury Park Mosque reported receiving multiple calls on Tuesday, 21 January, which were religiously motivated, violent and threatening in nature.

The case was passed on to specialist Met hate crime investigators, who quickly identified the suspect was calling from the Haringey area.

Harper was arrested at his house on Friday, 24 January and charged the same day with two counts of sending offensive and indecent messages and one count of sending threatening death or serious harm communications.

During his court hearing, Harper pleaded guilty to all counts, and was also given a restraining order not to visit or contact Finsbury Park Mosque for five years and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

Detective Superintendent Marco Bardetti, who led the investigation, said: “This investigation demonstrates our continued determination to protect communities across London from religiously motivated hate crime. Tackling it is at the centre of our efforts to make all Londoners feel safe.

“Lee Harper’s behaviour was totally unacceptable and I thank members of Finsbury Park Mosque for putting their trust in both the Met Police and the Crown Prosecution Service to report this crime promptly and support our investigation.

“I encourage our faith communities and members of the public to report hate crime to the police so we can act quickly and bring offenders to justice.”

Anyone who is the victim of a hate crime is encouraged to report it by calling 101 or submitting a report on the Met’s website. Always dial 999 in an emergency.