Angela Rayner burst into tears when trolls called her ‘scum’

Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner burst into tears and was left too scared to leave her house after trolls blamed her for the killing of Tory MP Sir David Amess.

Ms Rayner, 41, received a series of messages from 53-year-old Stuart Kelly following the death of Sir David at a constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea last October.

Kelly, from Halifax, and Michael McGrath, 70, from Sheffield, today (thurs) admitted sending an offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing message to the Labour MP for Ashton-under-Lyne.

Kelly left three menacing voicemails to Mrs Rayner on 15 October 2021 between 8 and 8.30pm after an evening of drinking at the pub, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.

Prosecutor Jonathan Bryan said the messages were in response to Angela Rayner making ‘derogatory references to Conservative MPs’ calling them ‘Tory scum’ last September.

The first email, which was read out in court today, said: ‘Hiya Angela, I hope your potty mouth and your big scouse gob is happy that a father of 5 children is dead. You scum. You’re the only scum on this earth.

‘I hope you get shot just like that poor bloke. You contributed to his killing. Your dirty scum.’

He sent another email that said: ‘Well done love. You’re a great MP. Your f–ing proud of your people aren’t you. You f–ing scouse scum.’

The third email, sent at around 8.30, said: ‘Murdered. F—ing murderer.’

McGrath sent a menacing email to Rayner in the early hours of 16 October. It said: ‘Well you fucking ginger bitch I hope you’re rejoicing tonight about there being one less Tory scum.

‘Let’s hope it never happens to you.

‘You f—ing vile bitch.’

He sent a further email on 28 October to apologise and explain that he had been drinking.

In a victim impact statement that was read out in court, Mrs Rayner said: ‘To the best of my knowledge I don’t know these people.

‘When I saw the content of the emails together with the voicemail I burst into tears.

‘It make me feel extremely upset and frightened.

‘These threats and comments have impacted me significantly.

‘I believe I have quite a thick skin when it comes to name calling and nasty comments.

‘What I have received in the past weeks has been in a different league and I have been scared out of my wits.

‘I have not even left the house in the last week for fears of someone trying to attack me.

‘For people to say that I’m responsible for the death of David Amess has caused me a great deal of stress.’

‘The ripple effect of these people’s actions is really wide.

‘How would they feel if it was their family?’

Kelly’s sentence was adjourned until 14 April pending the preparation of reports to assess problems with his drinking.

McGrath was sentenced to six weeks imprisonment suspended for 18 months and ordered to pay £200 in compensation to Ms Rayner.

District Judge Paul Goldspring said: ‘You clearly targeted Ms Rayner partly because of her, you say, comments regarding tory scum but also of course because of the political nature of what she has done and what she has said.

‘I have heard through the victim impact statement…the effect it has had on Ms Rayner.

‘I am convinced that it is a genuine statement in the sense that I believe her when she says that it used to be something that she took as perhaps an occupational hazard.

‘She said she used to have quite a thick skin.

‘But there is a line isn’t there Mr McGrath?

‘It doesn’t matter if you are an MP or a judge or a member of the royal family, it does not make you any less susceptible to personal attack or make you less susceptible to feelings about that.’

McGrath was said had one relevant previous conviction.

Kelly, of East Park Road, Halifax and McGrath, of Silkstone Crescent, Sheffield, both admitted separate charges of sending menacing messages.