A former secondary school teacher has been jailed after sending Kemi Badenoch racist emails and death threats.
Kieran Kyle, 43, claimed to have been in the IRA and emailed the Conservative Leader on the May 2, threatening to shoot her dead.
Kyle, from Gillingham in Kent, was sentenced to 20 weeks in prison at Westminster Magistrates court today.
The judge also handed Kyle a restraining order, meaning he cannot contact Mrs Badenoch, her husband or her parliamentary office for five years.
The court heard that in two of Kyle’s emails, he had made racist references and claimed he was “ex-IRA”.
One email said: “I’m ex-IRA, so Bloody Sunday references from you are going to give you trouble.”
The threats were sent after a video shared on social media of Mrs Badenoch criticising a parliamentary Bill on legacy issues in Northern Ireland mistakenly featured footage from Bloody Sunday.
The Tory leader apologised for the error and said she did not sign off the video before it was posted.
She added that it was sent out by “very young people”.
The court then heard that on April 29, a day after the video was posted, Kyle emailed the Tory leader’s husband, Hamish Badenoch.
The email told Mr Badenoch that his wife has a “big mouth” and he should “put a leash on her”.
Prosecutor Ben Holt said Mr and Mrs Badenoch were left “distressed” and “upset”, particularly by the “racist language and threats of violence used towards them”.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
- Kemi Badenoch accuses police officers of ‘cover up’ over Henry Nowak murder
- Andy Burnham’s EU debate is a ‘distraction’ for his lack of plan, Kemi Badenoch tells GB News
- Kemi Badenoch fumes at Andy Burnham’s ‘navel-gazing’ after PM opens door to slavery apology
Mr Holt said Mrs Badenoch’s head of parliamentary office, Cheryl Bacon, branded the emails “disgusting” and “distressing” to read.
Defending Kyle, Baiju Thittala argued that he “did not know” who Mrs Badenoch was at the time of the offences.
She added: “He only realised later, once he had sent the emails”.
The judge responded: “The first emails were sent to Mr Badenoch, so I don’t think he did not appreciate who Mrs Badenoch was.
“So he clearly knew who Mrs Badenoch was because he researched her husband’s details first.”
The Badenochs said in their victim impact statement: “Our primary concern arising from this offence is not the personal impact on us, but the wider consequences that malicious communications and targeted harassment have on our democratic life.
“When individuals choose to intimidate, threaten, or aggressively target elected representatives or public figures, the harm extends far beyond any single person. It undermines a healthy democracy.”
They added: “Public service relies on people being willing to step forward, often at significant personal cost, to represent their communities and contribute to public life.
“Increasingly, however, those who do so face hostility, harassment, and attempts to silence or intimidate them.”
Our Standards:
The GB News Editorial Charter