A woman who was filmed swearing and yelling “go back to your fucking countries” to her fellow tram passengers has pleaded guilty to racial abuse after denying the charges for almost 18 months.
Emma West’s rant was secretly filmed and posted on YouTube in November 2011. More than 2.2m people viewed the clip within the first 24 hours of it being posted and 88,000 people left comments.
The 35-year-old was charged days later with a racially aggravated section 4 public order offence.
Footage of Emma West was secretly filmed and posted on YouTube in November 2011
West changed her plea to guilty on Monday, after a string of adjournments in which her lawyers claimed her mental health problems meant she was not fit to stand trial.
The former dental nurse pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of a racially aggravated section 5 public order offence - using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, or disorderly behaviour that is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress when she appeared at Croydon Crown Court.
West also pleaded guilty last month to stabbing and slashing her partner Ricky Metson, with an ornamental knife, then assaulting a police officer, it was revealed on Tuesday.
She will be sentenced jointly for the tram rant and the attacks on her partner and a police officer on 24 June.
In the tram footage, West, with a toddler on her knee, shouted: "What has this country come to? A load of black people and a load of fucking Polish.
"You ain't English. No, you ain't English either. You ain't English. None of you's fucking English.
"It's nothing now. Britain is nothing now. My Britain is fuck all now."
West pictured at Croydon Crown Court
The British National Party has supported West, claiming she was being “brutally bullied by the Establishment” for “speaking out on immigration”.
Of the stabbing offence, West had enjoyed a family day out and was dancing in the living room when she snapped during a conversation about her brother and started punching and slapping Metson, Croydon Magistrates' Court was told.
Remi Ogunfowora, prosecuting, said: "Metson put his hands up in front of him to protect himself and told her to calm down. She said she was going to call her mum and ran upstairs and Metson followed.
"As he entered the room she picked up an ornamental knife from its sheath, struck him in the head and started slashing at his body. He slapped her around the face in self-defence to try and calm her down and went downstairs.
"She followed him down the stairs and stabbed him in the back at least twice. She tried to run out the house and he stopped her leaving and called the police."
Croydon Magistrates' Court heard when police arrived they found Metson, who was only wearing a pair of shorts covered in blood. Officers recovered a knife from the property that was about six to eight inches long.
Ogunfowora said: "Metson suffered two puncture wounds on his back and various slash and scratch wounds over his stomach, head, back of his neck, arms and legs. When officers tried to arrest West she started to kick them."
Metson is standing by West after her attack on him, and was with her at court on Monday.
The tram rant case and the assault cases were adjourned until June 24 pending pre-sentence reports. Recorder of Croydon Judge Warwick Mckinnon indicated he would pass a community sentence for the three offences.