Man who harassed Vauxhall MP given restraining order and ordered to pay £500 compensation

A man who harassed a South London MP by sending her offensive emails about her appearance and character has been sentenced.

Brian Haven, 59, sent out the emails to Vauxhall MP Florence Eshalomi between 15 December 2020 and 1 February 2021.

He made baseless accusations including alleging she was colluding with property developers and also blamed her for the local council’s low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) scheme being implemented.

Haven said he had received a penalty notice and called on her to cancel it, saying “I expect all Lambeth LTN tickets to be removed. I am not here to debate”.

On Wednesday, June 16 at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Haven was sentenced 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, from the CPS, 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.”