Teenager accused of antisemitic glass bottle attack kept in custody

A teenager accused of hitting a Jewish man with a smashed glass bottle in an antisemitic attack in north London has been remanded in custody.

Malachi Thorpe, 18, is alleged to have targeted two people – Israel Grossman and Erwin Ginsberg – as they closed up the shop they work at in Cadoxton Avenue, Haringey, on Wednesday.

He is accused of stamping on a yarmulke – a religious skullcap – and using the bottle as a weapon against one of the men during the alleged onslaught.

Police were called out at around 9.50pm after receiving reports the two men, who were described in court as both visibly Orthodox Jewish, had been attacked.

The pair were taken to a north London hospital to be treated for injuries including a broken nose, and Thorpe was arrested in Fairview Road.

He appeared at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on Friday after being charged with two counts of racially aggravated actual bodily harm and one count of possessing an offensive weapon.

Wearing a grey tracksuit and surgical face mask, Thorpe, of Fairview Road, Tottenham, spoke to confirm his details and indicate not guilty pleas to all three charges during the 20-minute hearing.

District judge Michael Oliver remanded Thorpe into custody ahead of a further hearing at Wood Green Crown Court on March 3.