Jeffrey Johnson was jailed for the 'disgraceful' attack on grieving dad Adrian Gordon outside the Old Bailey after the thug's brother was locked up for killing Mr Gordon's teen son
12:32, 15 Oct 2025
A groundsman for the Prime Minister has been jailed for kicking the dad of a murdered teenager in the head outside the Old Bailey.
Jeffrey Johnson, 24, attacked Adrian Gordon after the grieving father had watched a gang being jailed for killing his 17-year-old son Shea. Inner London crown court heard Mr Gordon was ambushed by Johnson, whose brother was among Shea's killers, and three associates, in a pre-planned attack yards away from the central London court.
Passing sentence, Recorder Margia Mostafa said: “You were fully aware Mr Gordon’s son had been murdered and the sentencing hearing was distressing for him. You deliberately exacerbated the distress to Mr Gordon and his family by pre-planning this attack.”
Johnson, who works at Sir Keir Starmer’s country retreat Chequers, Bucks, was sentenced to 26 months in prison after admitting affray and a separate count of dangerous driving during a police chase while high on cannabis, the Evening Standard reports. He has kept his Chequers job despite two past convictions for six offences, being on bail while awaiting sentencing for the affray, and also awaiting sentencing over a 2022 dangerous driving offence, the court heard.
His barrister told the court Johnson has ambitions to become a social worker. Deije Underwood was jailed for 18 months for his part in the attack. A third attacker, Daniel Akere, is set to be sentenced at a later date.
The horrific violence, on February 5, last year, was caught in shocking CCTV footage, and happened just after Abdul Yaro and Kavian Vaughans had been sentenced to life in prison for Shea’s murder.
The teen was stabbed to death in the street in September 2022 after leaving a party in Mile End, east London. Dainnan Witter-Cameron and Johnson’s brother, Giovanni Addae-Johnson, were convicted of Shea’s manslaughter, and were each jailed for eight years.
The court heard tensions had been mounting between associates of the defendants and Shae’s friends and family during the trial. On the day of sentencing, Johnson drove to court in a hired white Mercedes and parked it on double yellow lines outside the Old Bailey.
Underwood and Akere, both 20, came to court holding a crutch each, and they were left in the boot of the car. Prosecutor Nora Nanayakkara said Johnson was “aggressive and confrontational” towards members of Shea’s family in the public gallery during the hearing. Mr Gordon later walked out of the court with his family and they began to head up the road.
When he passed by the Mercedes words were exchanged and Shea’s grandmother is seen putting her hand across Mr Gordon’s chest, apparently to hold him back. “Mr Johnson opened the boot and he and Mr Akere began taking out the crutches”, said the prosecutor.
“A female made Mr Johnson put one of the crutches back into the boot, but Mr Akere pulled away with the other. Mr Akere approached Mr Gordon with the crutch in his hand, and Mr Underwood joined in. "They took one half of the crutch each, Mr Gordon was backed into a corner, Mr Underwood struck at Mr Gordon with the crutch, he struck again, Mr Gordon swung a punch at some time, and they both fell to the floor.”
Akere used the other half of the crutch to strike the dad “multiple times” on the ground, an unidentified man stamped on his head, and Johnson then kicked him in the same area. Underwood was himself knocked unconscious. Mr Gordon was left with injuries to his face and arms, the court heard.
Charlie Austin-Groome, for Johnson, said: “He made a decision at the time when his co-defendant was on the floor to run over and kick the victim in the head. It’s that he is bitterly regretful of doing.” Ms Nanayakkara said Johnson was stopped while at the wheel of an uninsured Mercedes, when he was already disqualified, and while he was high on cannabis.
He sped away and led officers on a high-speed chase, the court heard. “He was driving at excess speeds, reaching double the 30mph limit, he mounted the central island, clipped a railing, his a bus with his wing mirror, went the wrong way around a roundabout, and enter a no-entry road”, said the prosecutor, adding that other cars had to swerve to avoid a head-on collision.
The judge jailed both Johnson and Underwood for 18 months for the affray, and sentenced Johnson to an extra eight months for the dangerous driving.
Det Chief Insp Kev Ives, at the City of London Police, said after sentencing: “This was a despicable preplanned attack on the father of a murder victim outside the Old Bailey in broad daylight. The swift action of our officers meant serious injury was prevented and the perpetrators apprehended. Our crime investigators pored over CCTV footage which highlighted the scale and severity of the attack and assisted in securing their jail time.”
Underwood’s mother collapsed at the door to the courtroom after her son was led away to the cells, and her screams in the hallway led to the judge calling for court security to intervene. Johnson, from Bruce Grove, Tottenham, north London, was also banned from driving for three years and four months, and must take an extended test to regain his licence.