Claudia Webbe has been given a ten week suspended sentence at Westminster Magistrates' Court. The sentence is suspended for two years. She was also given 200 hours of community service and ordered to pay £1,000 in compensation, plus £120 court costs.
Prior to sentencing, Webbe's barrister pleaded with the judge: "Please consider my clients suffering as a black woman and the abuse she encounters". The judge then brutally reminded all present that Webbe is not the victim.
That victim - Michelle Merritt - read out a victim impact statement in court from behind a curtain. Ms Merritt said: "She [Webbe] has made me feel very vulnerable, in public, in my own home. I was scared to go to my door. I had many sleepless nights. I would like to feel safe again". Ms Merritt said that given Webbe's high status she did not know what the MP was capable of and she lived in fear that 'serious harm' would be done to her.
Ms Merritt added: "My self confidence has plummeted, I have anxiety attacks, I have almost become a hermit. I have fallen into huge debt, I desperately wanted to move away from the area Ms Webbe said she knew I lived in. I am so very proud I have had the strength to continue because no woman should be threatened or harassed the way she has to me over the years, least of all a politician".
Webbe appears to have spent her time awaiting sentencing by blocking scores of Twitter users, including a journalist who interviewed her when she was elected. The BTLP Twitter account was also blocked during her mammoth blocking session.
Webbe will now face a recall petition in her Leicester East constituency. This will run for six weeks and will require at least ten per cent of electors to sign it in order to force a by-election. Webbe will be able to stand in the by-election, but as she no longer has the party whip she wouldn't stand a chance and would almost certainly lose her deposit. Two out of three previous recall petitions have been successful. Labour's Fiona Onasanya was recalled in Peterborough in 2019, while Tory Christopher Davies was recalled in Brecon and Radnorshire later the same year.
Webbe's Labour majority in Leicester East was 6,019 at the 2019 general election.
Leicester East, 2019 general election
Claudia Webbe (Lab) 25,090 (50.8%) -16.2%
Bhupendra Dave (Con) 19,071 (38.6%) +14.4%
Nitesh Dave (LDem) 2,800 (5.7%) +3.1%
Tara Baldwin (Brexit) 1,243 (2.5%) New
Melanie Wakley (Grn) 888 (1.8%) -0.2%
Sanjay Gogia (Ind) 329 (0.7%) New
She should have got Jail Time. Judges are far too lenient and do not have public support for their inadequate sentencing.
ReplyDeleteNo matter how it's put , a suspended sentence means she was let off and as for "Please consider my clients suffering as a black woman and the abuse she encounters". she must have been terribly disadvantaged after all she only managed to become an MP.
ReplyDeleteIt's a disgrace. This woman harrased miss merritt and made her life unbearable. A woman in her position should have known better and should have suffered the consequences of her actions. See how she would have liked being bullied behind bars.
ReplyDeleteWell done the judge for highlighting to her barrister that webbe was not the victim and to be honest the barrister should have been warned off for trying to pull the racist card
She did not go to jail because she is black. If she were white, she would be in jail noW
ReplyDelete