A Very British Cult: Three men lose appeal for harrassing BBC journalist over documentary

Three men have lost their appeal for harassing BBC journalist Catrin Nye, who presented the podcast series and documentary, A Very British Cult.

Kristofer Deichler, 47, Jatinder Kamra, 46 and Sukhraj Singh, were sentenced for harassment after visiting her home where she lived with her partner and children, first in a group in August 2024, and then again as the three of them in September 2024.

"We accept she was terrified by the unexpected attendance" at her home, said Judge Pounder at Snaresbrook Crown Court, adding there was "heightened concern" as her children were also home.

All three men are members of Lighthouse, which was investigated for the 2023 documentary and podcast fronted by Nye.

Three men sentenced for harassing BBC journalist over A Very British Cult documentary

Three men guilty of harassing BBC journalist over A Very British Cult documentary

The men were attempting to overturn their convictions from February, when they were each sentenced to 200 hours of community service and given restraining orders banning them from contacting or approaching Nye or her partner for 10 years.

They were also banned from entering the London borough where the couple live for a decade.

A year after the initial broadcast of the BBC programmes about the organisation, the Lighthouse group began a campaign of peaceful, and legal, protests outside BBC offices in London, against Nye and the BBC.

"While there were elements of peaceful protest and freedom of expression, their conduct, as we have already identified, was not proportionate to the proper exercise of those rights and went beyond what was acceptable and indeed became criminal", the judge said.

After an interaction with Nye in July 2024, Kamra gave evidence that he was "dissatisfied" and that questions he had for Nye were still not answered.

The group decided to visit her home address, which they found using a private investigator and said that they had looked up BBC guidance of doorstepping.

"The appellants therefore appreciated that there was a line which their conduct must not cross", said Pounder.

"What happened descended into bullying and oppressive conduct", he added, deeming that the behaviour of the three men was not reasonable.

During the first visit to Nye's home address on 29 August, the group had distributed leaflets they had printed to Nye's neighbours.

The judge said the contents were "not confined to criticism of journalism".

"They identified her to those living in the immediate neighbourhood and associated her with serious allegations concerning racism, dishonesty and the concealment of child sexual abuse by family members," he explained.

"That is materially different from distributing critical literature outside the headquarters of a public broadcaster."

The court heard Kamra later returned to the property to post a handwritten letter saying "we will be back", which "materially reinforced" Nye's concerns, Pounder said.

Deichler, Kamra and Singh visited her property again a week later, on 5 September, before they were later arrested.

The three men maintained that they were performing citizen journalism and were at her property to obtain a doorstep interview, as part of their own documentary, and that they were acting in the public interest.

Judge Pounder accepted that they saw themselves as citizen journalists, but underlined their behaviour was not reasonable, as he pointed to their "deliberate acquisition of a private address, attendance of home, distribution of inflammatory literature, indication return visit and subsequent return".

Giving evidence for the second time, from behind a curtain, Nye told the court of her fear when the three accused went to her property.

It was "extremely" distressing, Nye said.

Their actions had resulted in Nye installing CCTV, panic alarms, direct lines with the police and carrying rape alarms, the court heard.

The three men had also claimed that their attendance outside Nye's home was an expression of their religious beliefs.

Pounder said there was no doubt that their views were "sincerely held", telling them that it had been concluded that a prayer they said outside her door was "an incidental part of their attendance at the address".

The Bible they wanted to give her, Pounder said could have been posted to her via the BBC.

On top of their original convictions, the judge has ordered the three men to each pay an additional £1,000.

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