Two women leave a bar in Hackney Wick, east London.
Two women leave a bar in Hackney Wick, east London.

Three men have been jailed for attempting to impose 'sharia law' on the streets of east London by attacking and threatening drinkers and women.

A judge at the Old Bailey had heard that Jordan Horner, 19, Ricardo MacFarlane, 26, and a 23-year-old man who cannot be named for legal reasons had told one couple they could not hold hands while walking down the street because it was a Muslim area, attacked a group of men drinking outside and said a woman would face "hell fire" for the way she was dressed.

The three were sentenced to 68 weeks, 12 months and 24 weeks in prison respectively.

The court heard how last December Horner and the 23-year-old man drove alongside Joshua Bilton and Anna Reddiford in Bethnal Green, and Horner shouted: "Let go of each other's hands. This is a Muslim area!" through a megaphone.

The couple initially thought it was a joke, but when the warning was repeated, they let go.

When they thought the car had gone, they held hands again, but the car pulled up in front of them blocking their path until they stopped.

Two weeks later, on 6 January, MacFarlane and Horner confronted a group of men drinking on the street in Shoreditch.

They said that they were there to "enforce sharia law" in "Allah's land", and shouted: "Kill the non-believers".

Horner then punched James Forward, a member of the group, in the jaw and knocked out another member, Patrick Kavanagh, with a punch to the head.

The following week, Horner and the 23-year-old confronted couple Clare Coyle and Robert Gray as they were walking along the street in Stepney.

The 23-year-old criticised Coyle for the way she was dressed , and said she would burn in "hell fire."

Horner, who filmed the confrontation on his mobile phone, called Coyle a "slag", to which she replied: "This is Great Britain, I can dress how I wish."

The video was later uploaded on to YouTube, and the vigilantes can be heard shouting: "You need to control this area and forbid people from exposing themselves outside the mosque. Remove yourselves now. Muslim Patrol. Move away from the mosque. Don't come back. We don't respect those who disrespect God."

Earlier this year Horner, who uses the name Jamaal Uddin, was jailed for attacking a photographer and causing £3,000 of damage to a car he attacked in Walthamstow.

On Friday, Horner pleaded guilty to two charges of assault and two charges of using threatening words and behaviour.

MacFarlane pleaded guilty to affray, and was previously convicted of causing criminal damage after painting over street advertisements depicting women.

The 23-year old pleaded guilty to two counts of using threatening words and behaviour.