Activist charged with harassing MP Soubry

A SELF-STYLED ‘yellow vest’ activist has been charged with harassment after anti-Brexit Tory MP Anna Soubry was taunted outside Parliament.

James Goddard, 29, is accused of harassment relating to incidents on December 19 and January 7, when Miss Soubry was approached.

He is also accused of two public order offences against a police officer, the Crown Prosecution Service said last night.

The protester posted a video online yesterday to thank supporters after being warned he was likely to be remanded in custody when he answered police bail.

He said: ‘If they do remand me then we will just have to learn from it, go away, do it, come back even stronger.’

Goddard, from Leicester, was arrested by the Metropolitan Police on January 12 following claims Miss Soubry was harassed in Westminster five days earlier.

Miss Soubry, a prominent supporter of a second EU referendum, was subject to taunts during a TV interview. The MP for Broxtowe in Nottinghamshire was then harangued by a group of men as she made her way back to Parliament.

The incident led to beefed-up police patrols around Westminster and a debate over whether protests near the Houses of Parliament had crossed a line.

Pro-Brexit demonstrators outside Parliament have been wearing highvis jackets like those worn by the ‘gilets jaunes’ protesting against Emmanuel Macron’s government.

A CPS spokesman said: ‘Following a review of the evidence, the CPS has authorised the police to charge James Goddard, 29, with harassment. He is also charged with two public order offences against a police officer.’ Goddard will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on March 19.