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A "vile" racist who threw the plaque of David Oluwale into the River Aire has been returned to court after scrawling antisemitic graffiti on the city centre's M&S.

Gregory Palmer appeared at Leeds Magistrates' Court this week for defacing the Marks and Spencer store on Wellington Street, drawing two Stars of David and an antisemitic slogan on the door in felt-tip pen.

It happened on April 17, 2022, a year before he defaced the David Oluwale plaque on Leeds Bridge, and then later ripped the replacement plaque down and tossed it into the river. Those incidents were caught on CCTV.

The 60-year-old, of St Peter's Court, Bramley, was this week sentenced to a 12-month Community Order with 105 hours of unpaid work, 20 Rehabilitation activity requirement days and total financial penalty of £614 for the M&S incident.

The case was prosecuted as an antisemitic hate crime, with prosecutors successfully applying for a sentence uplift due to the racial aggravation.

The plaque to David Oluwale (pictured) was ripped down by Palmer after he defaced the M&S store on Wellington Street with antisemitic graffiti. (pic by WYP / Google Maps)

Ciara Riordan from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said: “This was an abhorrent antisemitic hate crime. The CPS has an enormous amount of sympathy and concern for all victims of hate crime, and we take such offending extremely seriously. I hope this case demonstrates that this type of offending will not be tolerated.”

Lionel Idan, CPS Hate Crime lead said: “Bringing offenders who perpetrate antisemitism to justice is a priority for the CPS. Such vile acts have no place in society. I hope this conviction encourages more people to report all forms of hate crime in the knowledge that we will prosecute the perpetrators.”

Palmer was previously found guilty after a trial at Leeds Magistrates' Court last October of criminal damage over the David Oluwale plaque.

Mr Oluwale came to the UK in the 1960s but was targeted because of his mental health, homelessness and race. He tragically drowned in the river in 1969 after being chased by racist police officers through the city streets. His death led to the first ever prosecutions of British police involved in the death of a black person.

The plaque was put in place in April last year by the Leeds Civic Trust and has been vandalised several times, not just by Palmer.

CCTV had caught Palmer defacing the plaque with a black marker on May 20 last year, and then ripping the replacement down on July 7.

'Vile' racist who defaced David Oluwale plaque back in court over antisemitic graffiti at Leeds M&S