Suspended Labour MP guilty of acid threat to ‘love rival’
A LABOUR MP who threatened to send nude photos of a supposed love rival to the woman’s family was facing a possible jail sentence last night.
Claudia Webbe also threatened Michelle Merritt with acid and called her a “slag” during a campaign lasting two years.
The Leicester East MP was stunned as she was found guilty of harassment yesterday, and vowed to clear her name.
Inconsistent
Webbe, 56, said: “I am deeply shocked. I have never threatened violence nor have I ever harassed anyone.”
Chief magistrate Paul Goldspring told the suspended MP her evidence was “vague, inconsistent and illogical”.
He said he would take her previous “good character” into account when passing sentence but added: “I must adhere to the sentencing guidelines that state harassment over a long period of time, when the distress of the complainant is high and threats are high, it crosses the custody threshold.”
Webbe, who had a character reference from former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, bombarded Ms Merritt with calls, the Westminster court heard.
She was jealous of the executive assistant’s friendship with her boyfriend, senior Chelsea FC scout Lester Thomas. Ms Merritt, 59, and Mr Thomas had dated in the past and were good friends for 15 years.
Webbe also made a series of silent calls which left Ms Merritt distressed. The harassment “escalated” as she demanded to know why Ms Merritt was seeing him, saying: “You’re a slag and you should be acid.”
Webbe, of Islington, north London, had denied a single charge of harassment. Her solicitor Raj Chada said she “will be vindicated at an appeal”.
Lisa Rose, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said after the verdict her “persistent nuisance behaviour caused considerable distress and alarm”.
Webbe, who had had the Labour whip removed after she was charged, will be sentenced next month.