Crime

A 56-year-old man has been sentenced for spitting at former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in a “barrage of abuse” during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.Gerald Dore assaulted Mr Corbyn on 20 May last year at the corner of Seven Sisters Road, north London, while the MP was cycling with his wife Laura Alvarez.“He began shouting and swearing aggressively towards both parties before ultimately taking a step towards Mr Corbyn and spitting,” Mr Barrowcliffe said.In a statement read by the prosecutor, Mr Corbyn said he was “alarmed and distressed by the aggressive behaviour” and was particularly concerned by the man spitting in his face.Representing himself, Dore said the incident was not motivated by the Islington North MP’s politics as he claimed that he did not know him.“I didn’t dislike him, he was just in my way and I was trying to get home,” he told the court.“All I was trying to do was cross the road and he was in the way. I might have sprayed him.”Dore previously admitted one count of assault by beating against Mr Corbyn and a second charge of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause fear of unlawful violence.He added that he had chronic pain and mental health issues, and the court was told he had a lower culpability.“To spit at someone is gross in any circumstance but to do so at a time when the infections were running very high was very serious indeed,” district judge Adrian Turner said, although he accepted that the assault was a chance encounter.The judge gave Dore an 18 month community order, which will include 80 hours of unpaid work, and ordered him to pay £250 in compensation, including £150 to Mr Corbyn and £100 to his wife.Additional reporting by PA More

Police have dropped their investigation into a Conservative MP and ex-minister who was arrested after a woman accused him of rape.The Metropolitan Police had said they received allegations on July 31 of sexual offences and assault relating to four separate incidents at addresses in London, including in Westminster, between July last year and January this year.A man was arrested on August 1 on suspicion of rape and was taken into custody at an east London police station before later being released on bail, the force added.
But a Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: “Following a thorough investigation, and based on all evidence made available to officers, the decision was taken that the case did not meet the evidential test and no further action will be taken.
“The complainant has been made aware of the decision.”
The man, who the Sunday Times reported has been carrying out parliamentary duties from home since his arrest, has been told of the police decision.
The alleged victim told the paper she intends to appeal against the decision under the Victims’ Right to Review Scheme.
Following the man’s arrest, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said on August 2 that he did not know the name of the MP.
Mr Jenrick added that Parliament “needs to be” a safe environment for young women to work in.
He told Times Radio: “There has clearly been some very difficult allegations and cases in recent years.
“We need to make sure, like any other workplace, it is one that’s fit for everybody, where everybody feels safe and comfortable working, and when allegations are raised they are treated with the seriousness they deserve.”
Asked whether he personally wanted to see the Tory whip removed from the MP under police investigation, Mr Jenrick said: “We need to take allegations of this nature very seriously and I’m confident that the party is, and will do.”
Numerous reports in the Sunday papers on August 2 said the allegations were raised with Tory Chief Whip Mark Spencer, and the complainant also spoke to him, but no action was taken.
The PA news agency understands that Mr Spencer advised her to make a formal complaint to authorities who would be able to investigate the claims.
A spokesman for Mr Spencer said: “The Chief Whip takes all allegations of harassment and abuse extremely seriously and has strongly encouraged anybody who has approached him to contact the appropriate authorities, including Parliament’s independent complaints and grievance scheme, which can formally carry out independent and confidential investigations.”
A Conservative Party spokesman said: “We take all allegations of this nature extremely seriously. As this matter is now in the hands of the police it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
The investigation came days after former Conservative MP Charlie Elphicke was convicted at Southwark Crown Court in a separate case of sexually assaulting two women, one of whom was a parliamentary worker. More

A “violent, racist attack” in which a man entered a law firm in London armed with a knife was inspired by a speech given by Priti Patel, lawyers have claimed. On 7 September, a 28-year-old man entered the office of a law firm whose identity has been withheld, armed with a knife. He was subsequently charged with assault, racially aggravated public disorder, possession of, and making threats with, a bladed article in a public place and making threats to kill.Days earlier, the home secretary had complained about “activist lawyers” who were working to delay the removal of failed asylum seekers.She wrote on 3 September: “Today we removed people who came here via small boat. “They had previously claimed asylum elsewhere and had no legal right to be in the UK. Watch more“Removals continue to be frustrated by activist lawyers, but I will not let up until this route is unviable.”Her comments were criticised at the time as having undermined the legal system.Amanda Pinto QC, chair of the Bar Council, said lawyers should not be political targets simply for carrying out their work.“Irresponsible, misleading communications from the Government, around the job that lawyers do in the public interest, are extremely damaging to our society,” she said.“Legal professionals who apply the law and follow Parliament’s express intention, are not ‘activists’.“We strongly condemn the use of divisive and deceptive language that undermines the rule of law and those working to uphold it.”Now, in a letter seen by The Observer, the law firm targeted in the knife attack has said “responsibility and accountability…lies squarely at the feet of Priti Patel”.Watch moreThe company, which has not been named for security reasons, has appealed to the Law Society to raise the issue with the government to “ensure that public attacks on the legal profession are prevented from this point forth”.According to the Sunday paper, the letter said: “It must be ensured that no further lives are endangered as a result of her untruthful and deliberately inflammatory rhetoric. Put simply, this must stop now, before innocent lives are taken and other irreparable damage is done to those who work in this field.“This must involve all previous statements made by Priti Patel being publicly retracted, and an apology or acknowledgment that such action to date has been inappropriate. Urgent reassurance is required from the government that this will not be repeated. The position as it stands is untenable, dangerous, and cannot be allowed to persist.”The Independent contacted the Home Office for comment. More