A man from Northampton has been forced to issue a grovelling apology to the Guardian journalist, Owen Jones, after his family’s business was informed of a horrifically h*mophobic message he had sent to the left-wing journalist threatening him with violence and calling him a “f*cking f*ggot” and a “left wing b*tch“.
On Friday, Gary Hirst, 33 from Northampton, sent a disgustingly h*mophobic and disturbingly threatening Facebook message to the prominent left-wing Guardian journalist, Owen Jones, which stated:
“You need to drop dead, you’re a moron and you dont [sic] deserve to be a British citizen you f*cking f*ggot!! You’re a left wing b*tch and if I ever saw you I’d happy slap you.”
Following the threat, Jones took to Twitter in an attempt to expose the despicable h*mophobe, tweeting:
“Hi everyone, please say hi to Gaz from Northampton !”
Jones attached a screenshot of the message he had received accompanied by a picture of the perpetrator from his Instagram account:
Hi everyone, please say hi to Gaz from Northampton ! pic.twitter.com/MbYpFtfZap
— Owen Jones🌹 (@OwenJones84) 15 February 2019
Jones’ tweet immediately gained traction, and numerous Twitter users came forward to give information on the person responsible.
It was quickly revealed that Gaz’s family owns a business in Northampton, S&G Prints, and his Instagram account @hirsty85 also soon became public knowledge.
Soon after Jones’ initial tweet, S&G Prints received numerous negative reviews on Google, and also decided to delete their Facebook page after receiving messages from people outraged at the message sent to the Guardian journalist.
In addition to this, Jones had also informed Hirst’s family firm of the vile h*mophobic message he had received – and, after being allowed to speak to his abuser on the phone, Jones received an attempted apology from the perpetrator.
Despite calling Jones a ‘f*cking f*ggot‘ in his earlier message, Hirst – who is also said to be a ‘fan of Tommy Robinson‘ – denied being h*mophobic, stating that his message was “not meant to be detrimental to LGBT or any other community” and attempting to argue that:
“I am not or ever have been a h*mophobic [sic] and have several gay and lesbian friends, who I have grown up with“.
Hirst’s full apology reads:
“Thank you for talking to me on the phone earlier.
I would like to apologise for my comment on Facebook, it was totally uncalled for and stupid.
It was not meant to be detrimental to LGBT or any other community, I am not or ever have been a h*mophobic [sic] and have several gay and lesbian friends, who I have grown up with.
I have made a huge mistake and now have to face the consequences.
However, my former company who I worked for years ago are suffering the backlash, as they contacted me to say they have had several nasty comments on the Facebook page and have had to close it down.
My mistake should not have any bearing on there [sic] business, so as agreed could you please remove the post as the company in question have nothing to do with my error or judgement.”
Following complaints to Gaz’s family’s business, he’s sent me this apology which I’ve said I’ll share, so here it is! pic.twitter.com/WWiXrqfIA6
— Owen Jones🌹 (@OwenJones84) 15 February 2019
Despite the messages potentially breaching several laws regarding intimidation and hate speech, it is understood that the police have not been informed of the incident and no further action is likely to be taken.
