Doncaster man Robert Cumming admits sharing racist Snapchat video targeted at Home Secretary Priti Patel

Jake Henderson posted a widely-shared 50-second video on the social media platform in January in which he used a racially abusive word to describe Ms Patel following a Covid-19 briefing.

In the video played to magistrates in Mansfield on Tuesday, Henderson could be heard saying: "As a white man, I won't be listening to people of colour."

A second man, Robert Cumming, admitted sharing the video on his own Snapchat group along with the caption "Haters gonna be hating", followed by four laughing emojis.

Prosecutor Daniel Church told magistrates the prosecution believed the video was "motivated by hostility towards members of racial groups".

Henderson, 28, from Newark, Nottinghamshire, and Cumming, 26, from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to a single charge of sending a grossly offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing message or matter via a public communication network.

The court was told the video was recovered by police from the phone of Henderson's partner.

Mr Church said a "number of people were distressed by the racist sentiment" of the video, sparking complaints to police.

One member of the public was quoted to magistrates by the prosecutor, saying: "People have the right to feel their own feelings but he didn't have the right to show his feelings in this way."

The statement described her fears that the video could "incite racial hatred".

A Rotherham Borough councillor also said the video had "upset" her, adding: "I feel the comments were targeted at everyone in Rotherham, especially the Asian community."

She added: "The comments are very extreme and were not made in a joking manner.

"They were not off-hand racist comments - it was an ideological view."