A Labour MP has spoken of the "misery" caused as she feared for her safety after a "Twitter troll" was jailed for 18 weeks for bombarding her with abusive messages
A Labour MP has spoken of the "misery" caused as she feared for her safety after a "Twitter troll" was jailed for 18 weeks for bombarding her with abusive messages
Peter Nunn, 33, from Bristol, retweeted menacing posts threatening to rape Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy, and branded her a "witch".
As he was sentenced in court yesterday, a victim impact statement written by Ms Creasy was read out, which described how the father-of-one caused "misery to her and her family" and led her to install a panic button in her home.
Prosecutor Alison Morgan said the messages had had a "substantial" effect on Ms Creasy, who felt "increasing concern that individuals were seeking not only to cause her distress but also to cause her real harm, which led her to fear for her own safety".
In a statement released afterwards, the MP said the police and criminal justice services need to be better trained to identify the risks to those receiving threats.
She was targeted after she supported a high-profile campaign launched by feminist Caroline Criado-Perez to put Jane Austen on the £10 note. Ms Criado-Perez was also the subject of Twitter abuse at the hands of Nunn although the charge he faced did not relate to her
She said yesterday that she felt the charge that better described the offence was one of stalking.
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