LEICESTER East MP Claudia Webbe has been convicted of harassing her partner’s female friend.
Webbe was accused of threatening to attack Michelle Merritt with acid and send her explicit photos to her family as she was jealous of her friendship with Lester Thomas with whom the parliamentarian has a relationship.
She is believed to have made a series of calls to Merritt between September 2018 and April 2020 and some of them were recorded.
Webbe, 56, allegedly called Merritt “slag” and threatened her with acid.
However, the MP denied having harassed Merritt and claimed she merely called her as a matter of "courtesy", telling her to adhere to Covid norms.
The independent MP said she was unhappy that Merritt, 59, had been breaching lockdown rules with Thomas.
“She was committing a crime. I was pointing this out,” she told Westminster Magistrates Court.
However, Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring refused to believe her explanation, saying it was “frankly incredible”.
Goldspring said he was considering a custodial sentence and sought a pre-sentencing report, Sky News reported.
Amid calls for her resignation as MP after her conviction, she insisted that she was innocent and would continue to represent her constituents in Parliament.
Webbe, the first female MP for Leicester East, said she was shocked by the judgment and would appeal against it.
Elected to Commons in 2019 succeeding long-time Labour parliamentarian Keith Vaz, she was suspended from the Labour whip last year after she was charged with harassment.
She became a councillor in the London Borough of Islington in 2010 and was a member of the Labour’s national executive committee from 2016 until 2019.
Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in northwest of London, in July 2024. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Crossbow murderer found guilty of raping ex-girlfriend
A 26-YEAR-OLD man who murdered three women in a crossbow and stabbing attack has been found guilty of raping one of them, his ex-girlfriend, a British court ruled on Thursday.
Kyle Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in Bushey, northwest of London, in July 2024.
The attack led to a manhunt before Clifford was found injured hours later in a north London cemetery.
A jury at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday convicted Clifford of raping 25-year-old Louise Hunt before killing her.
His sentencing for all the crimes is scheduled for Tuesday.
Clifford had admitted to murdering Carol Hunt, 61, and her daughters Louise and Hannah, 28. He had also pleaded guilty to charges of false imprisonment and possessing offensive weapons but denied raping Louise.
During the trial, the court heard that after killing Carol Hunt, Clifford waited for an hour before attacking Louise, tying her up, raping her, and then killing her with a crossbow. He later killed Hannah when she returned home from work.
The prosecution described Clifford, a former soldier, as committing a "violent, sexual act of spite" and said he was "enraged" after Louise ended their 18-month relationship. They told the court that he had "carefully planned" the attack.
Less than 24 hours before the killings, Clifford had searched for a podcast by social media influencer Andrew Tate, according to the prosecution. They argued that the murders were driven by the "violent misogyny promoted" by Tate.
Justice Joel Bennathan called Clifford’s crimes "dreadful" and "almost unspeakable".
(With inputs from AFP)