Colleagues praise Newbury MP for resilience during intimidation campaign
COLLEAGUES from across the political spectrum have expressed sympathy for Newbury MP Laura Farris after a constituent waged a campaign of fear against her.
A district judge issued a warrant for the immediate arrest of her tormentor, Ian Howgate and gave him a suspended prison sentence for his actions.
Mrs Farris said in a victim impact statement how she had been "absolutely terrified" by the "relentless... obsessional... fury and fixation" of her constituent Ian Howgate.
Following our exclusive report Mrs Farris took to social media and linked to the article on Twitter, remarking: "I’m pleased and relieved that this case has been resolved which has been hard on my family and for my staff.
"I’m grateful to the police in Newbury and Westminster, the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] and the court staff."
Her predecessor, former Newbury MP Lord Benyon tweeted: "I feel desperately sorry for @Laura__Farris, her family and staff. No one should put up with this kind of behaviour. It is a mark of what a great MP she is that she carried on as if none of this was happening. Huge respect for Laura.
"Those of us in the know understand what has been happening and what a hero @Laura__Farris has been."
Liberal Democrat parliamentary spokesman for Newbury Lee Dillon also remarked on the case and tweeted: "Important judgment in the role between MP and constituent... unacceptable way for her to be treated and I'm pleased the courts took action."
Jeanette Clifford tweeted: "So glad this is resolved, Laura. Despite this horrible case, I know (because I work with you) that you have never faltered in your determination to serve everyone in your constituency. I applaud you for your courage and dedication."
Howgate has said he is "shocked" by the verdict and said he would appeal.
On Thursday, November 4, the 56-year-old, of Ley Gardens, Speen, was convicted in his absence for menacing Mrs Farris after reportedly stating he did not recognise the authority of the court to try him.
But when, the following day, he also refused to appear at another, related trial for contempt of court, the patience of senior district judge Tan Ikram ran out.
He ordered police to arrest Howgate at home and bring him to the dock immediately to be sentenced.
During the contempt hearing it emerged that, after being warned about his behaviour, Mr Howgate recruited an accomplice – self-styled "top-rate investigative journalist" Brian Radford – to continue harassing Mrs Farris on his behalf, the court heard.
Richard Milne, prosecuting, told Westminster Magistrates' Court sitting in Reading on Thursday, November 4, how Mrs Farris was a newly-elected MP in December, 2019, when Mr Howgate immediately complained she was ignoring him.
He began making impossible demands of her and the bombarding emails soon became abusive, said Mr Milne, and in once case expressed Mr Howgate's frustration and his "right" to "confront" Mrs Farris.
He added that if he continued to feel ignored he would become "merciless" towards her.
Mrs Farris eventually told Mr Howgate his emails were "aggressive and unacceptable".
She wrote: "Neither myself nor my staff will respond to such comments. If you continue it could be considered harassment, which is a criminal offence."
Mr Howgate then responded with what Judge Ikram deemed a "direct threat".
In it, Mr Howgate referenced the Samurai sword killing of Andrew Pennington, who died trying to protect MP Nigel Jones in his constituency office in Cheltenham in January 2000.
In his emails Mr Howgate drew parallels between the killer's mental state and his own; he warned "the clock is ticking" and told Mrs Farris that, rather than protect her by putting themselves in harm's way for her sake, her staff would "throw you to the lions".
His last email concluded: "Rest in peace Andrew Pennington."
Giving evidence, Mrs Farris told the court: "Furious emails would come in but there was nothing I could do – he wouldn't tell me any facts... it was intense fury... relentless, bordering on obsessional."
Mr Howgate seemed fixated with meeting Mrs Farris in person without giving a clear reason, the court heard.
In her victim impact statement Mrs Farris said: "It became very scary – the final email felt like a direct threat of violence. I was absolutely terrified. It was a weird, obsessive interest in me which always appeared to necessitate me meeting him – which I refused to do. It was a combination of fury and fixation... I feared for my and my family's safety.
"If I see someone walking past my window I always worry it's him."
Mr Howgate was convicted in absence of sending a menacing email but the following day again refused to attend a second trial – this time for contempt of court.
Mr Milne said Mr Howgate had been sent confidential court documents in order to defend himself and had been expressly warned not to show any third party.
But he showed them to Mr Radford, who then fired off numerous emails to Thames Valley Police, describing himself to detectives as a "top rate investigative journalist".
An officer told the court: "It's a claim he makes... [his emails] don't quite make sense".
The papers illegally disclosed by Mr Howgate reportedly revealed that Mr Radford himself had been investigated for harassing Mrs Farris on Mr Howgate's behalf, including by sending emails to her previous employers and also to the Bar Association where Mrs Farris is an accredited barrister.
In one email exchange, the court heard, Mr Radford told Mr Howgate: "Hi Ian; of course I want to hear more. Do you believe they've bugged my line? What a great story that would be."
Det Sgt Darren Little said: "Mr Radford suggests he is a freelance journalist – but the articles I've seen written by him often feature Mr Howgate. He was making constant threats to publish stories. He was warned it was a live investigation. I believe any queries he made were not for the purposes of journalistic investigation."
Mr Howgate was convicted of contempt of court and a warrant was issued for his immediate arrest.
When he was brought to the dock by police officers, Judge Ikram told him that he had continued to harass Mrs Farris via Mr Radford's activities and said: "Mrs Farris was a newly-appointed MP, receiving a series of increasingly aggressive emails.
"She responded in a courteous and professional manner.
"You didn't take no for an answer... you didn't stop. Good people will be deterred from public service if they face threats in emails or the physical threats they've faced in the past few years."
Mr Howgate, who has no previous convictions, was sentenced to a total of 20 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 18 months.
In addition, he was ordered to pay £500 costs, plus a statutory victim services surcharge of £122.
Finally, he was made subject to a five-year restraining order forbidding him from contacting Mrs Farris or her staff, either directly or indirectly.
