Four years in jail for fire attacks on church and Sikh temple
A man who carried out fire attacks at a Sikh temple and a church because he wanted to make a “political statement” has been jailed for four years.
Paul Johnson, who was said to have “issues” with religion, used petrol to ignite the doors of Edinburgh’s Guru Nanak Sikh Temple and Leith Methodist Church this summer.
He told police he wanted to watch the premises burn down, confessing to officers: “I did it.”
Johnson, 49, admitted two charges of wilful fire-raising, aggravated by religious prejudice, on 28 August when he appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh last month.
Returning to the court for sentencing yesterday, judge Lord Boyd described Johnson’s actions as “reckless and wicked”.
He said Johnson appeared to have a “grudge” against religion or religious authority in general, rather than a prejudice against one particular group.
The court heard how during the attack on the Sikh temple, smoke entered the building and put the lives of those inside at risk.
The attack was only carried out when unemployed Johnson happened to come across the building.
The court heard that on the evening of 27 August, Johnson bought a container and then fuel worth £3.51 from a local petrol station.
Shortly before 5am on 28 August, a man heading to the temple to pray spotted fire had taken hold on one side of one of the doors and immediately raised the alarm with a man sleeping inside in the family quarters.
Around a couple of hours later, the caretaker at Leith Methodist Church noticed a smell of petrol and burning and cleaned up the area around the front door after realising there was no fire damage of note. He later contacted police after hearing about the incident at the temple.
Lord Boyd said at the sentencing hearing yesterday: “What is clear is that you seem to have some sort of grudge against religion or religious authority and decided to take it out on two nearby religious buildings.
“You told police officers that you were confident that noone was in the building and that fire officers would not be at risk because of their training. You were of course wrong about people being in the building and your actions did put people at risk.
“It is clear from what I can glean about these offences that they were motivated by a grudge against religion or religious authority in general rather than prejudice or bigotry against any one group.”