Man who threatened MP is jailed for 6 months
23-year-old left abusive message in ‘appalling act of intimidation’
A man who threatened to “cut” a female MP during an abusive voicemail has been jailed for what a sheriff called “an appalling act of intimidation”.
Zackary Welsh, 23, left the message at the constituency office of South East Cambridgeshire MP Lucy Frazer after comments she made in the House of Commons in 2015 about Scots being sent as “slaves to the colonies” following Oliver Cromwell’s victory at the battle of Dunbar in 1650.
Welsh, from Edinburgh, was sentenced to six months in prison at the sheriff court in Edinburgh yesterday after previously pleading guilty to making offensive and threatening remarks.
Sheriff Donald Corke described Welsh’s actions as “vile”, particularly in light of the murder of MP Jo Cox in June 2016.
Passing sentence, the sheriff said: “You left a vile, vulgar and abusive voicemail message on the constituency telephone of Lucy Frazer, the member of parliament for South East Cambridgeshire.
“You made a threat to come down and cut her if she did not apologise for remarks she made about Scotland. This is a truly appalling act of intimidation, not least because of the tragic death of Jo Cox MP.”
The court heard that alcohol had played a part in Welsh’s actions, but Sheriff Corke said that was no excuse.
The sheriff said Welsh’s age, lack of record and early guilty plea had been taken into account in arriving at the sentence.
He added: “Particular difficulties are faced by women MPS, who are often subjected to misogynistic, sick and perverted abuse.
“This is an attempt by those without their talent or sense of public duty to demean and control them and ultimately exclude them from public service.
“The threats and abuse you indulged in would clearly be intensely distressing to your target, her staff, and her family.”
Conservative MP Ms Frazer, a former barrister, apologised after making the comments about Scottish “slaves” when joking about the West Lothian Question in her maiden speech to parliament.
“You made a threat to come down and cut her if she did not apologise for remarks she made about Scotland” SHERIFF DONALD CORKE
cmarshall@scotsman.com