Stephen Gray appeals his conviction for a joke about Islam, with the support of the Free Speech Union

Max Thompson, Campaigns Officer

10 November 2026

This Friday, 13th November, Free Speech Union member Stephen Gray will appeal at the Crown Court against his conviction for reposting a meme critical of Islam.

Stephen is a retired police officer who served for nearly thirty years with Cleveland Police. On Facebook, he reposted a meme that had already been shared thousands of times. It showed a rasher of bacon next to a man in a turban, with the caption: “Fun facts about bacon! People who eat bacon have a lower chance of marrying a 9-year-old!”

The post referred to the Prophet Muhammad’s marriage to Aisha. According to the Hadith, she was six when they married and nine when the marriage was consummated. Stephen said that the post was satirical, but that he also hoped it would prompt serious debate about whether that marriage has helped to make child marriage acceptable in parts of the Muslim world.

The Crown Prosecution Service initially decided that there was no realistic prospect of conviction and declined to charge him. The complainant then challenged that decision under the Victims’ Right to Review scheme. The CPS reversed its decision, and Stephen was prosecuted under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 for sending a “grossly offensive” message.

On 30 April, at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court, District Judge Steven Hood convicted him. The judge found that the post could not have been making a serious point, because it was framed in a light-hearted way. He also concluded that convicting Stephen would not be a disproportionate interference with his right to freedom of expression. Stephen was ordered to pay more than £1,000 in fines and costs, and he now has a criminal record.

That reasoning should trouble anyone who values free speech. Satire has always been one of the most effective ways of making a serious point, and a joke is not disqualified from saying something important merely because it is a joke. If a light-hearted framing is enough to convert criticism of a religion into a criminal offence, then mockery of religious belief has been placed beyond the law’s protection.

Parliament abolished the common-law offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel in England and Wales in 2008. They should not return through the back door, and they certainly should not return to protect one religion alone. Criticising Islam, or any other faith, is not a crime. Nor is reposting a joke that some people find offensive.

The Free Speech Union has instructed John Beggs KC, one of the country’s leading criminal silks, to represent Stephen. We have fought this kind of case before. Together with the National Secular Society, we funded the defence of Hamit Coskun, who was convicted for burning a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish consulate in London. His conviction was overturned on appeal at Southwark Crown Court, and when the CPS tried to challenge his acquittal in the High Court, we beat it there too.

Stephen never imagined that, after a career spent enforcing the law, he would end up on the wrong side of it for sharing a joke. His case is a reminder that any of us could be next.

Cases like this are expensive. Please donate to Stephen’s crowdfunder, and help us to stop an Islamic blasphemy law from taking root in Britain.

Donate to the crowdfunder here and watch Stephen’s video.