Why extremist was spared prison

Judge who told student to read Jane Austen explains his reasoning

Judge Spencer QC, the senior judge at Leicester crown court, has come in for criticism after he told a university student to read classics such as Jane Austen in place of the bomb-making instructions he had collected. Ben John, 21, from Lincoln, was given a suspended sentence last week after a jury had convicted him of a terrorism-related offence.

Jane A…