Syrian refugee 'attack': 16-year-old boy given police caution over incident at Huddersfield school

Prosecutors find 'insufficient evidence' that incident was racially aggravated

A boy accused of attacking a Syrian refugee at their school in Huddersfield has been given a police caution.

The 16-year-old suspect was interviewed by police after footage of the incident at Almondbury Community School went viral in October.

Police said officers investigated the alleged assault and the suspect was summonsed to court for common assault.

“However, following significant media coverage about the incident, West Yorkshire Police has received further intelligence and evidence and a review of the case was undertaken to investigate whether there was a racially aggravated element to the offence,” a spokesperson added.

“A file was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for their consideration.

“The CPS has concluded that there was not sufficient evidence to charge the suspect with a racially aggravated assault and he was given a caution for a section 39 assault.

“The victim and his family has been kept updated throughout the process and has been updated on the CPS’s decision.”

Police said the assault was reported by the 15-year-old victim on 26 October and officers viewed video evidence “which has been widely circulated in the media and on social media”.

In the footage, the victim was thrown to the ground and threatened with drowning as he had water poured on him.

The video provoked outrage and prompted well-wishers to set up an online crowdfunding page for the victim which received £50,000 in donations in the space of a day.

Shortly after the footage emerged, the victim said he no longer felt safe at school.

The teenager told ITV News: “I woke up at night and just started crying about this problem. They think I'm different - different from them. I don't feel safe at school.

”Sometimes I say to my dad, 'I don't want to go to school anymore'. I was just crying and I didn't do nothing because I respect the school rules.“

Footage of the incident went viral last year, and the victim and perpetrator said they both received threats

Theresa May said the generous public response showed the ”true spirit of Britain“.

As the incident attracted massive media attention, the perpetrator gave The Sun a handwritten statement in which he accepted responsibility for his actions, but denied bullying the younger boy.

The teenager said he and his family had gone into hiding and gave an interview to Tommy Robinson saying he was "scared for my life, scared for my family's life".

The suspect had shared numerous posts from Mr Robinson’s Facebook account in the months before the incident, as well as from Britain First and other right-wing accounts.

Mr Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has been served with a legal letter alleging that he defamed the victim in a series of posts and videos.

They included claims “lots of Muslim gangs are beating up white English kids” in Britain.

The anti-Islam activist’s page, which has since been deleted, had more than 1 million followers and the posts on the Huddersfield incident were viewed up to 900,000 times each.

The victim's lawyers allege that Mr Robinson’s social media posts caused the teenager to become “the focus of countless messages of hate and threats from the extreme right wing”, and a police safety warning.

Mr Robinson has not responded publicly to the allegations.