Party leader Paul Golding makes an announcement that he is appealing his conviction in Ballymena.

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Dear fellow Britain First patriot,

I have waited over a week before commenting on my conviction for criticising immigration last week in Ballymena.

I was found guilty and then given a suspended sentence that will be hanging over me for two years!

All of this for a simple leaflet criticising immigration in the town of Ballymena.

I am very, very angry.

I have been pondering my options at length with my legal representatives in Northern Ireland.

After lengthy deliberation, I have made a decision:

I am going to appeal this conviction and challenge it in a higher court!

This whole prosecution was a politically-motivated operation to stop Britain First mobilising the people of Ballymena against the migrant influx in the town.

I was doomed from the start, guilty from the word go, because the 'Powers That Be' were determined to silence our campaign.

The last thing the Sinn Fein/IRA dominated establishment in Ulster wants is for Britain First to challenge their multiculturalist, globalist, leftwing policies. 

Remember, I was arrested just a few days before a rally was to take place in Ballymena that would have been heavily attended by furious local residents.

My bail conditions barred me from entering Ballymena and being within 500 metres of any protest, demo or procession in the whole of Ulster.

This was purely to control me and prevent me from promoting Britain First in Northern Ireland.

If this prosecution was decided purely on the law, I would have been found not guilty.

However, you could see from the judge's face that he was not interested in the law. 

He was going to find us guilty regardless of any legal arguments.

You could see it on his face. 

Remember in 2018, I was sent to prison by a judge that had been leaned on by the Attorney General.

Without a jury to make a decision, a judge can simply do whatever he wants, and the judge in Ballymena did.

He turned up to the verdict last week with a pre-written statement he simply read out to the court and the media.

Exactly the same thing that happened in 2018 when I was sent to prison!

Our legal representatives have advised me that there are serious and credible grounds to appeal this conviction.

After discussing it with them, I have decided to lodge an official appeal today in Belfast!

At the verdict last week, one of the defence solicitors said that a conviction 'could have a chilling effect on freedom of speech in the United Kingdom'.

The judge did not give a damn, he clearly had a political agenda.

My right to freedom of speech and expression under the Human Rights Act 1998 and the European Convention on Human Rights was completely and totally ignored by the judge.

My defence cited the case of Pastor McConnell, who said that 'Islam is satanic and a creed spawned in hell'. 

He was found not guilty by the courts.

Why then was I found guilty for simply criticising immigration into a town?

I was also found not guilty for making a speech in Belfast recently, during which I said things that could be construed as much harsher than the content of the Ballymena leaflet.

The dark hand of political interference in the justice system is evident all over this disgusting and tawdry prosecution.

I am not going to lie down and take these convictions on the chin anymore!

This was a political stitch-up, not a genuine and wholesome example of British justice. 

If we don't fight back against these political attacks then the judiciary will become more and more corrupt.

Also, the suspended sentence - lasting two years - is also designed to scare me away from Northern Ireland.

I literally cannot operate in Northern Ireland now, as even a tiny mistake will land me with a new prosecution and then the suspended prison sentence will be activated!

This has all been decided and planned by the establishment in Northern Ireland.

My conviction can now be used in court to silence other patriots who dare to challenge immigration, so there is a wider free speech imperative at play here.

This is why I have decided to appeal.

I am faced with a choice:

Back down and take it on the chin and abandon Northern Ireland, or appeal and get the conviction overturned.

I have decided to fight. 

The paperwork has been lodged today and I am awaiting the next court date for the appeal.

I intend to overturn this conviction and cause major humiliation and embarrassment for the corrupt establishment.

With a single conviction, they have scuppered our movement and destroyed free speech in Northern Ireland.

No, I am not going to let them get away with this!

I don't care how long it takes, I am going to appeal and overturn this evil and nefarious conviction.

The good thing is, the appeal court in Northern Ireland has sensible and accountable judges sitting on its benches, not some local unaccountable cowboy!

This is a fight for freedom, justice and free expression, it is very, very important.

I want you to help me fight and win this appeal.

Together, side by side, we can strike an almighty blow against establishment corruption and teach our enemies a lesson they will not forget!

Are you prepared to give me your backing now that I have launched this moral crusade?

If good citizens like us don't make a stand, our country will become a tyranny where there is no free speech or freedom of thought. 

The more convictions they secure, the worse the situation becomes for everyone!

I am asking you today to chip in to my legal appeal fund so I can power this endeavour to the finishing line.

If you don't make a stand for our nation and our future, who else will?

Join me today, chip in here:

Yours sincerely,
Paul Golding
Leader, Britain First