Man avoids jail for ‘offensive’ message following MP’s death

A Twitter troll who posted a message stating “a dead MP is a good MP” hours after Jo Cox was shot dead outside her constituency surgery avoided jail yesterday.

Craig Lawson sent the “grossly offensive” message on the social networking site on June 17 – less than 24 hours after Mrs Cox died.

Lawyers for Lawson claimed the sick message – posted after a rant about expenses fraud in Parliament – was not sent in response to the murder, but was simply a coincidence.

But a sheriff said that was “extraordinarily hard to accept” given the blanket media coverage – and that the offence “fully justified” a prison term.

However, Lawson was given 225 hours’ community service because “the very MPs he vilified” had passed laws meaning prison would be imposed if it was the only option.

Dundee Sheriff Court heard Lawson had “began with a rant about MPs doing nothing but taking from the taxpayer and harming the working class”.

Lawson later told police he had been referring to “all the fraudulent expense claims MPs have made and got away with”.

Then he sent the tweet stating “a dead MP is a good MP”. That message was spotted by political activist Gregor McAbery. He contacted police who traced Lawson at his home in Springfield, Fife.

Lawson, 24, of Arthur Place, Springfield, Cupar, pleaded guilty to a charge of sending by means of a public electronic communications network a message that was grossly offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing.

Craig Lawson, left, sent the tweet following Jo Cox’s death.