UK Lawmaker Expelled From Party After Being Handed Jail Term for Harassing Woman

A British subordinate of Parliament has been fixed a suspended jailhouse condemnation connected Thursday for harassing her partner’s friend. She was subsequently expelled from the Labour Party.

Claudia Webbe, 56, was fixed a 10-week sentence—suspended for 2 years—and 200 hours of assemblage work astatine Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

She was besides ordered to pay £3,128 ($4,226) successful costs and surcharges wrong six months.

Webbe said she was “very disappointed” with the condemnation and volition entreaty the court’s decision.

A Labour spokesperson confirmed Webbe’s expulsion soon aft the sentence.

The MP for Leicester East was recovered blameworthy of harassment connected Oct. 13.

The tribunal heard that Webbe had made 16 calls to her spouse Lester Thomas’s semipermanent person Michelle Merritt betwixt Sept. 1, 2018 and April 26, 2020, including 1 successful which she called Merritt “a slag” and threatened to propulsion acerb successful her face, and different 1 successful which she said she had seen pictures of Merritt bare and threatened to nonstop them to her full family.

Sentencing Webbe, Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring described Webbe’s behaviour arsenic “callous and intimidatory.”

“You were jealous of the narration betwixt Lester Thomas and Michelle Merritt, and astir apt felt successful immoderate mode threatened by it,” helium said.

Goldspring said Webbe “showed small remorse oregon contrition” and would person been jailed instantly were it not for her erstwhile bully character.

The territory justice besides said that helium counted 4 occasions erstwhile Webbe referred to herself arsenic “the victim” during her grounds from the witnesser container astatine the trial, and that he recovered it “odd and concerning” that the probation work study said Webbe felt similar a unfortunate herself.

Prosecutor Susannah Stevens said Webbe’s offending was “persistent … and implicit a prolonged period,” and caused psychological harm and distress to the victim.

Merritt told the tribunal that Webbe made her consciousness susceptible some successful nationalist and astatine home.

“I had galore sleepless nights. I would similar to consciousness harmless again,” she said.

“Due to Ms. Webbe’s presumption successful authorities [sic], I don’t cognize what she is susceptible of.”

Merritt besides said she had “fallen into immense debt,” and “desperately wanted to determination distant from the country where” Webbe had said she knew Merritt lived.

“No pistillate should beryllium threatened oregon harassed the mode she has to maine implicit the years, slightest of each a politician,” Merritt said.

Defence counsel Paul Hynes QC said Webbe, being a politician, had besides been subjected to “extraordinary vilification,” including threats of unit connected societal media, arsenic good arsenic racist comments.

PA contributed to this report.