Teen accused of Jewish hate crime remanded in custody

A teenager accused of hitting a Jewish man with a smashed glass bottle in an anti-Semitic attack in north London has been remanded in custody.

Malachi Thorpe, 18, is alleged to have targeted two people as they closed their shop in Haringey on Wednesday.

He is accused of stamping on a yarmulke – a religious skullcap – and using the bottle as a weapon.

The pair, described in court as both “visibly Orthodox Jewish”, were treated in hospital for injuries.

Police were called to Cadoxton Avenue at about 21:50 GMT after receiving reports that the two men had been attacked.

Mr Thorpe appeared at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court after being charged with two counts of racially aggravated actual bodily harm and one count of possessing an offensive weapon.

Wearing a grey tracksuit and surgical face mask, Mr Thorpe, of Fairview Road, Tottenham, spoke to confirm his details and indicate not guilty pleas to all three charges during the 20-minute hearing.

District judge Michael Oliver remanded him into custody ahead of a further hearing at Wood Green Crown Court on 3 March.