{"id":21739,"date":"2022-04-14T17:43:03","date_gmt":"2022-04-14T17:43:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2022\/04\/14\/angela-rayner-man-jailed-for-sending-abusive-voicemails-to-mp\/"},"modified":"2022-04-14T17:43:03","modified_gmt":"2022-04-14T17:43:03","slug":"angela-rayner-man-jailed-for-sending-abusive-voicemails-to-mp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2022\/04\/14\/angela-rayner-man-jailed-for-sending-abusive-voicemails-to-mp\/","title":{"rendered":"Angela Rayner: Man jailed for sending abusive voicemails to MP"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A man who left offensive voicemails to Labor Deputy Leader Angela Rayner has been sentenced to eight weeks in prison.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Ashton-under-Lyne MP said she “broke down in tears” and was “insanely scared” after being attacked by Stuart Kelly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard a message left on October 15, 2021: “I hope you get shot.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The court heard Kelly, 53, of Halifax, who pleaded guilty, linked Ms Rayner to the murder of Sir David Amess.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The machine operator pleaded guilty to sending abusive, indecent, obscene or threatening messages in the past month.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Kelly was also handed a two-year restraining order against the MP.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring said the calls were “insulting” and “threatening” and “contain a reference to her being shot”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The court heard Kelly linked Ms Rayner’s comments at the Labor Party conference in September, when she called Prime Minister Boris Johnson “scum”, to the Conservative MP’s murder.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Sir David, 69, was stabbed to death during an operation in his Leigh-on-Sea constituency in Essex.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Later that day, Kelly left three voicemail messages for Ms. Rayner at her constituency office within 30 minutes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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One said: “I hope you get shot. You contributed to his death, you filthy scum.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In another, Kelly accused Ms. Rayner of being a murderer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ms Rayner said in a statement she was “no stranger to criticism” and had developed a “thick skin” throughout her career.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“When I saw the content of the emails and voicemails, I burst into tears,” she said. “I’m terrified, not just for my own safety, but for the safety of my family, my children and my staff.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She said it “scared” her to leave her house and “completely changed” her as a person, and it “made me question my work.” <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ms Rayner said it was “absolutely devastating” to be accused of being linked to Sir David’s death, adding: “Over the past five years I have seen two close colleagues stabbed to death on duty.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She said the killings of MP Jo Cox and Sir David made her concerned the same could happen to her.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Zaki Hashmi, defending Kelly, said: “The behavior was inexcusable, Mr Kelly was drunk. That is more of an explanation than a justification for what he did.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A second man, Michael McGrath, 70, from Sheffield, also admitted sending an abusive email to Ms Rayner’s office.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He was previously sentenced to a six-week prison sentence suspended for 18 months. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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