Campaigners seek review after judge branded their original case 'abusive'

The Campaign Against Antisemitism is trying to reopen its case against Reginald D. Hunter.

In December a judge threw out a private prosecution against the comic, saying the activists deliberate misled the court, saying their ‘true and sole motive in seeking to prosecute Reginald Hunter is to have him cancelled. I have no doubt that the prosecution is abusive.’

Now the campaign group known as the CAA has applied for a judicial review to reopen the matter – a move that in itself will bring more attention to their case.

When he rejected the case that Hunter had sent offensive  communications to pro-Israeli campaigner Heidi Bachram in the summer of 2024, District Judge Michael Snow slated the CAA for the ‘misleading and partial way in which it summarised its application and its wilful, repeated failure to meet its disclosure obligations’.

 He said the group failed to provide information to the court about the incident in which Mr Hunter clashed with Israeli couple Mark Lewis and Mandy Blumenthal at his Edinburgh Fringe show.

The pair heckled an anti-Israel joke, and subsequently complained Hunter turned the crowd against them, saying they felt hounded out because they were Jewish. The comic – who was cleared of committing any hate crime following an investigation by Police Scotland – later said he ‘regretted’ what happened but stopped short of an apology. 

A CAA spokesperson said today: ‘CAA has applied for permission to bring a judicial review in respect of a decision by District Judge Michael Snow to stop the private prosecution of Reginald Hunter over a number of posts on X that CAA alleges were grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character. 

‘The grounds for the judicial review are that the District Judge’s decision was irrational, procedurally incorrect, and contained other errors of law. 

‘If successful, the private prosecution would resume, and Mr Hunter would return to trial. CAA’s motto is drawn from the biblical command: "Justice, justice you shall pursue", and so we shall.’

When the case was thrown out,  Hunter’s lawyer accused the CAA of ‘weaponising and using the courts for their own political agenda’.

Hunter has complained about the CAA ‘dragging me to court for jokes’, and  raised £58,000 from crowdfunding to cover his legal fees to fight their prosecution. 

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Published: 20 Mar 2026