Former Labour MP Eric Joyce has pleaded guilty to making an indecent photograph of a child.
Joyce, who represented Labour for Falkirk between 2000 and 2012, before becoming an Independent until his resignation at the 2015 general election, appeared at Ipswich Crown Court today for a pre-trial hearing.
According to the BBC, Joyce was charged last month after being arrested in November 2018. The charge alleged that he had made an indecent photograph of a child – described as a movie file and classified as a Category A image.
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Judge Emma Peters said on Tuesday that the single 51-second movie, found on a device, “depicts a number of children”.
“Some are quite young, one is said to be 12 months old,” she said. “Clearly a category-A movie.”
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UK
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British Tennis player Maia Lumsden in action at Bridge of Allan Tennis Club. People can meet family and friends outdoors and play sports such as golf and tennis again as the country is moving into phase one of the Scottish Government’s plan for gradually lifting lockdown
PA
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A police frogman, searches for a weapon in Abington Lake in in Northampton
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson appears before the Liaison Committee via Zoom from the cabinet room at 10 Downing Street, amid the coronavirus
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Waves break onto a wall at Brighton beach
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PA
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People at Bournemouth beach in Dorset, as people flock to parks and beaches with lockdown measures eased. The Met Office has predicted the hottest day of the year
PA
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A dog jumps into the water as families relax at a Lido in London
AP
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PA
She said Joyce, who appeared at court in person, “says he accesses it via an email which he says was a spam email”, adding: “At the time he was drinking heavily and he has now undergone work with the Lucy Faithfull Foundation and a psychotherapist.”
Joyce, of Worlingworth, Suffolk, was granted bail and Judge Peters instructed that a report be prepared before he is sentenced on 7 August. He is also required to sign paperwork acknowledging his presence on the sex offenders register.
A statement published on Joyce’s website last month, after details of the charge emerged, said: “I will make no comment from now until all legal processes are at a close… at that point, I will make a full statement.”
Joyce, a former soldier, resigned from Labour in 2012 after admitting to common assault in a House of Commons bar, later telling MPs his “the standard of my conduct fell egregiously below what is required by a member of this House, or indeed anyone, anywhere”.
