Jailed stalker admits sending letters to TV presenter’s mother
A PRISONER who stalked Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis for more than 25 years has admitted twice attempting to send her a letter via her mother.
Obsessive Edward Vines previously pleaded not guilty to breaching a restraining order imposed on him at Oxford Crown Court in 2009 for harassing the BBC journalist.
After the last hearing in September, where he denied sending a letter to Marion Maitlis, Vines then sent a second letter to the presenter’s mother on October 6. At Nottingham Crown Court yesterday, the 49-year-old admitted sending both letters as a judge described him as having a “longterm fixation” with Ms Maitlis.
Vines was jailed for 45 months on January 18, 2018, for continuing to breach his restraining order by writing to Ms Maitlis from prison and his bail hostel.
He met and briefly became
friends with the Newsnight presenter when they were both students at Cambridge University in the mid-1990s.
In 2018, Ms Maitlis, who was raised in Sheffield, said Vines’ unwanted attention was upsetting her husband, scaring her children and affecting her work.
The journalist interviewed the
Duke of York in November last year, which led to Andrew stepping back from official public duties for the foreseeable future after criticism for his unsympathetic tone and lack of remorse about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Wearing a grey sweatshirt and spectacles as he appeared in court via video link from HMP Nottingham, Vines pleaded guilty to attempting to breach a restraining order between May 7 and May 16 last year, and again on October 6 by sending a letter to Marion Maitlis to pass on to the journalist.
The defendant was due to face a two-day trial next month before entering the guilty pleas. Judge Stuart Rafferty QC said it was “not clear” what his present mental state is as he adjourned sentencing. He remanded Vines back into custody and adjourned his sentence until February 3.