Fourth child for Murray and wife Kim
“grossly offensive and of an indecent, obscene, and menacing character”.
She also claimed Karte was a member of a local SNP branch “where there have been a significant number of complaints about abuse of women by younger men”.
Ms Cherry added: “I would like to thank the police for their assistance.
“Some of the threats which Mr Karte made to me were of a sexual nature. A recent survey of parliamentarians showed that while politicians of both sexes receive abuse and threats, it is largely female politicians who receive threats of sexual violence. I believe that this is a problem which requires to be acknowledged.
“At the time of the offence Mr Karte was a member of a branch of the SNP where there have been a significant number of complaints about abuse of women by younger men. Had these complaints of abuse, and the targeting of me and other women on social media been addressed, it is likely that this behaviour would not have escalated to the scale of threats of sexual violence.
“Finally, I believe that the untrue allegations of transphobia made against me, some of which were repeated by senior politicians who ought to know better, put a target on my back. Therefore, I hope that everyone involved learns from this episode. Women must be allowed to discuss women’s rights, and to acknowledge that sex matters, without being labelled bigots or abused and threatened. Sex is a biological reality which we cannot ignore and if we do ignore it, we distort reality in a way that can only make women more vulnerable.”
Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told Karte, a selfemployed plumber, sent the volley of abusive tweets to the 54-year-old QC after drinking a bottle of whisky.
The court was also told Karte is a supporter of the SNP and due to the alcohol he was “unaware of the messages he sent”.
Solicitor Simon Collins, defending, said Karte was angry at the time and was “trying to find answers to what was happening within the [political] party.” He said Karte “understands” why Ms Cherry called the police and that he “followed and has regard for her”, adding that he has a previous conviction for possessing a knife but does not consider himself to be violent.
Prosecutor Callum Thomson said Ms Cherryreceived the messages on her Twitter account onfebruary1.
Andy Murray’s wife Kim has given birth to the couple’s fourth child.
The pair have become parents again and the Scots tennis star has pulled out of next week’s Dubai Tennis Championships so he can stay at home with the new arrival.
It’s not yet known if they have a new boy or girl.
The couple, who married in Dunblane in April 2015, are already the proud parents to two daughters and a son – Sophia, five, Edie, three, and a son Teddy, who turned two last October.
The tennis star is known for keeping his family life private, and the couple never publicly confirmed baby number four was on the way.
Murray has been sidelined due to injury problems which came close to ending his tennis career.
When the couple were expecting their third child back in 2019, Murray joked he needed to get back to touring because his family kept expanding.
It is understood the 33-yearold Scot, still on the comeback trail following hip surgery two years ago, withdrew from the upcoming Dubai tournament as felt he would not have had enough preparation time.
Instead Murray will to travel to the United States early next week to prepare for the Miami Open, which begins the following Monday.
The former world number one is expected to receive a wild card to play in Miami.
Murray last played at the AMRO World Tennis Tournamentinrotterdam,winninghis opening match against Robin Haase before losing 7-5 6-2 to Russian world number eight Andreyrublevlastwednesday.
The two-time Wimbledon champion is currently ranked 116 in the world.
In January, the Scottish former
world number one tested positive for Covid-19 shortly before he was due to travel to Australia, just weeks ahead of the Australian Open.
Murray said last year he believes tennis players should
be required to have a Covid vaccinationinordertoplayintournaments.
Andy gave a rare insight into his family life in an interview withthetimeslastyear,saying: "Atthetimecoronavirusstarted
Iwasrehabbing,andiwasactuallyfinemissingtennis,because everybody else was missing it as well. I just got to spend lots of time with my family at home."