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news
ANPR protected LTN in LB EalingOnline troll who abused Labour MP over low traffic neighbourhoods sentenced
An online troll who sent a Labour MP abusive emails regarding low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) has been handed a suspended jail sentence after pleading guilty to harassment.
Brian Haven, from Brixton, also accused Vauxhall MP Florence Eshalomi of acting in collusion with property developers and made offensive comments about her physical appearance, says the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
Haven sent a number of emails to the MP between 15 December 2020 and 1 February 2021, and according to the CPS, the 59-year-old claimed he had been wound up through listening to radio talk shows.
Haven blamed Ms Eshalomi for the introduction of LTNs by Lambeth Council – even though such schemes are the responsibility of the borough, and the MP has no influence over them.
He told her to cancel a fixed penalty notice he had received, saying: “I expect all Lambeth LTN tickets to be removed … I am not here to debate.”
On Wednesday, Haven was sentenced at Westminster Magistrates’ Court to eight weeks in custody suspended for 18 months after pleading guilty to one count of harassment at an earlier hearing.
He was also ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work, pay £500 in compensation to the victim and handed a restraining order prohibiting him from directly or indirectly contacting the victim for five years.
Michael Phillips, a Senior Crown Prosecutor within the Complex Casework unit in CPS London South, said: “These emails contained highly personal attacks focused on the physical appearance and character of an elected Member of Parliament. They were abusive, offensive and amounted to harassment.
“Haven’s actions made the victim feel worried about her personal safety and left her distressed.
“During police interview Haven admitted to sending the emails and claimed he had done so after getting wound up listening to talk shows on the radio through lockdown.
“Nobody should be subjected to such vile behaviour for carrying out their civic duty and the CPS will always aim to prosecute offenders who target elected individuals where there is the evidence to do so,” he added.
We’ve reported of a number of instances of hosts of radio chat shows programmes using LTNs to stoke a ‘debate’ on the issue.
Coverage of LTNs in print and broadcast media also often helps perpetuate widely held misconceptions about them, such as blocking access to residents or emergency services, both of which are incorrect.
> “Shameful”: BBC “perpetuated falsehoods” in divisive low traffic neighbourhood report
And as with newspaper columnists who write about laying booby traps for cyclists, by fanning the flames of opposition to LTNs, there is a real danger that some people will be emboldened to take matters into their own hands – whether by moving or vandalising planters, CCTV cameras or traffic counters, or even making death threats to councillors implementing them, as has happened in at least two London boroughs.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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A bit like underarm, surely?
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32 comments
Why didn't she block his emails?
Perhaps she wouldn't be able to play victim card as she usually does.
Kate Hoey she ain't?
She wouldn't stand on a platform with Nigel Farrage, doesn't support fox-hunting, wouldn't vote for the DUP in the NI elections and doesn't advocate that cyclists pay 'tax' and that their bikes have registration numbers... so yes, Kate Hoey she aint.
The media should be held to account for inciting hatred of any kind, with the same punishment as given to leaders of hate groups. Definition of targets for hate should not be limited to predefined prototypes (race, religion, gender, etc.). The media cannot use 'we are facilitating dialogue' when they are facilitating escalation of hatred.
Wow, one of your best jokes Nigel, keep them coming
I heard somewhere that if you look up "hate" in the dictionary there's a picture of Priti...
If the MP had been a cyclist he probably would have got off scott free.
Though his "anyone elses fault but mine" re radio show defense cuts no ice with me. His actions his responsibility. Though given his inability to differentiate between an MP and local councillor he's obviously not the sharpest tool in the box.
"defence"
Not in the States. It's weird to me the lack of a freedom of speech Brits have (and many other countries). It's so ingrained in our culture here, that this guy just seems like an assbag and did nothing criminal, though of course there, it's a criminal act.
If the USA freedom of speech means you can call anyone highly abusive names, continuously harrass them and make them feel worried for their safety, and not be commiting a crime, I'm glad I don't live there then.
Fair. Also shitty health care.
That isn't even available to a large proportion of the population.
And guns. FFS....
Also shitty health care
Definitely unfair. It doesn't feature well in these international comparisons which include measures of accessibility for all, freedom from worry of bankruptcy if you become seriously ill etc. But they certainly know how to do it, and their doctor training used to outclass ours when you compared institutions of comparable standing in their own country (ours has probably improved now). Don't forget- they got rid of their loathsome lying fat b*****d!
Check out The Chaser in Australia.. they have harassed politicians for comedic effect, so no problem; as far as I'm concerned, put yourself up for public office, you are fair game for criticism - he made fun of her appearance? well, whoopy do; using the police and the courts to protect politicians from criticism, no matter how immature the criticism, is wrong.
https://www.crikey.com.au/2021/06/17/fixated-persons-unit-friendlyjordies/
What a sad state of affairs.
"Conservative councillor's house set on fire in third attack" - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-57545325
Maybe they were just little 'joking' fires? You know, just a bit of fun?
Shurely "DEFENCE"
For me, the thing that matters is that this is an example of where constant demonisation of certain people and groups, increasingly extreme rhetoric in the media, and 'jokes' about violence can transpire into something more sinister.
I hope the Press Complaints Commission and Ofcom take note next time someone claims that inciting violence against cyclists is 'just a joke'.
When's Cristo moving over to GBNews? I'm sure that would be an excellent fit. Maybe we'll see him on #GBNewsFails.
I'm guessing you've never listened to GBNews but you've been told what to think of it by the Guardian, Independent, etc.
Not listened to it (nor do I have any such plans), but isn't it designed to be politically biased i.e. right-leaning? (Disclaimer: my knowledge of it comes from Wikipedia though I do read the occasional article in The Grauniad but hardly ever The Independent due to it wanting me to subscribe)
It's early days and I haven't heard much from them yet but I would say right-leaning is a fair description. But just barely, and only on some topics, and definitely not as far right as the subject of this article, which is what Boopop seemed to imply. They're also not as far to the right as The Grauniad is to the left in my opinion.
Personally I don't have a problem with news organisations having a bias, especially if they're open about it and we can take it into account when reading their articles. Complaining about media bias is pretty pointless nowadays anyway. Can any of us name any news organisation that is unbiased? I know I couldn't and I honestly don't think one exists.
A quick google for UK media bias comes up with this survey result from 2017 (https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2017/03/07/how-left-or-right-wing-are-uks-newspapers)
That implies that The Independent is thought of as the least biased (though somewhat to the left).
I've just read the Graunida review of GBNews and they certainly don't like it:
I like using Ground News as it attempts to show the level of bias in various reports/tweets etc. Like you say, being biased one way or another is to be expected, but it's good to get some indication about the different reporting. Personally I'm not a big fan of opinion-focussed news (excepting cycling).
Interesting, I see the Independent as a little further to the left but that's just my perception I suppose.
I think the Guardian has got it slightly wrong. Piers Morgan *might* fit in to GB News but I really doubt it from what I've seen so far and I certainly wouldn't make any effort to listen to what he has to say. Nick Ferrari is just a shock jock (cough-tosser-cough) and definitely NOT a good fit for GB News. I'm not surprised the Guardian is critical though. Journalism is a tough space to work in nowadays and the last thing they need is competition, although there's probably not a lot of overlap in their respective readers/viewers.
I can see GB News affecting the BBC's ratings though. Folks who are utterly sick of the latter's woke nonsense will see GB News as a breath of fresh air. In fact, now that I think about it, they're not a million miles away from what the BBC were like when I arrived in the UK in the late nineties.
I used to read some of The Independent and I'd agree that it did seem left-biased (though I'm left-biased too but it seemed a bit forced at times).
With The Graduian, I've found their factual reporting to be relatively trust-worthy (though which topics they cover is probably more where their bias comes across) but I try to steer clear of their opinion bits.
I deliberately avoid anything that mentions Piers Morgan as he's a nasty piece of work.
Woke nonsense?!? Christ you've been watching GB news 10 seconds and already you're coming old with this oldflake, gammon shit.
Woke just means not being racist/sexist/homophobic and so on. Not being an utter cunt in other words. The right and their media utterly depend on spreading hate and divisions within society in order to work and so yeah, they hate people trying to be respectful of each other.
Also: BBC news was taken over by a hardcore Tory a number of years ago and is a big reason why this country is so fucked - they don't question people who should be questioned. Their version of balance is "this person thinks murder is wrong but this person thinks murder is right, let's give them equal airtime". What I'm saying is you haven't watched the bbc for years and get all your info on it and everything else from social media.
It's Saturday night. Have you been drinking and posting, Eddy? If you want to have a civil discussion where we each try to learn from each other's perspectives then I'm up for that, but it's difficult to see the key points in your post amongst all the angry name calling so I won't respond. You know virtually nothing about me or my political views. Anyway, I hope your hangover's not too bad in the morning and you can get out on your bike. A ride will do wonders for your mental and physical health.
One on line review of GBNews:
"A summary: For gammon, by gammon, about gammon, starring gammon of all shapes and sizes, Happy gammon, angry gammon, upset gammon, always with a sense of gammon in gammon times."
The fact that the first thing that Andrew Neil said in the introduction is that they are proud to be British, when he lives in France and none of the major investors live in the UK, should tell you all you need to know.
.
To be fair their studio is in London so I'd say that makes them a British organisation. The fact that Andrew Neil lives in France at least some of the time doesn't change that. If you or I moved to France we'd still be British.
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