Appeal Dismissed: MP Claudia Webbe STILL Guilty of Harassment

Claudia Webbe MP has lost her appeal against her recent conviction for the harassment of a love rival. 

Webbe, 57, of Islington, London, was convicted of harassment at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, 13th October 2021.

Senior District Judge Paul Goldspring presided over the two-day trial, which we have previously written about.

The court heard that Webbe made a string of menacing phone calls to Michelle Merritt between 1st September 2018 and 26th April 2020, including one where she threatening to disclose personal sexual photographs of Ms Merritt.

Ms Merritt was a (very) close friend of Webbe's then partner Lester Thomas and it would appear the MP was a bit jealous at the nature of the pair's relationship.

It would be fair to say that Judge Goldspring was none too impressed with the account given by Webbe, who has been the MP for Leicester East since May 2019.

Announcing his decision, the Judge said: "I do not find the defendant to be cogent, compelling and truthful in all aspects of her evidence.

"Some of the things she said I believe were made up on the spur of the moment."

Webbe was subsequently handed a 10-week suspended sentence, which resulted in her immediately announcement that she was going to appeal the conviction.

Appeals to the Crown Court are always heard "de novo" - that is to say that the entire case is considered afresh based on the evidence presented during the appeal, irrespective of whether that evidence has been presented previously. There is a right of appeal with every conviction made in the Magistrates' Court.

Appeals are heard by a bench consisting of a Crown Court Judge (a Circuit Judge or Recorder) and a minimum of two, maximum of four, Justices of the Peace.

The bench considering Webbe's appeal consisted of HHJ Deborah Taylor, Emily Heller JP and Don Kennedy JP. All members of the appeal bench have an equal say in decision making.

It transpires that new mobile phone evidence was available that did not feature in the original trial. Messages subsequently retrieved from the mobile phone of Ms Merritt show she was engaged in a sexual relationship with Mr Thomas, despite her earlier claims they were "just good friends".

The closeness of their relationship, however, did not detract from the fact that Webbe made numerous phone calls to Ms Merritt, despite having been warned off by the police. In one of those calls, as alluded to earlier, Webbe threatened to share sexual photographs of Ms Merritt with her family.

HHJ Taylor noted that the evidence given by Webbe differed "considerably" from that given during the original trial.

The Judge said: "We found that although Michelle Merritt was an unsatisfactory witness who told lies about the nature of her relationship with Lester Thomas until the downloads from her phone made the nature of the relationship clear, in other respects we accept her evidence."

Addressing Webbe, she added: "In the circumstances we consider that the new evidence sheds new light on the nature and extent of your offending."

Webbe's was re-sentenced to a 12-month community order with 80 hours' unpaid work requirement.

She was also ordered to pay £50 compensation to Ms Merritt.