Corbyn supporter faces jail over harassment of three Labour MPs who stood up to antisemitism

Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot told the court she considered Mr Nelson’s actions as being “really serious offences”.

She added: “Just listen to the effect this had on staff.”

The magistrate also told the court “the sentence could be custodial ... all options are open.”

The court heard how on July 18, 2018  he telephoned Dame Margaret’s female parliamentary assistant and made an explicit sexual reference before branding the veteran Labour MP an “apartheid supporting scumbag bitch”.

Prosecutor Simon Maughan said the harassment offence against Dame Margaret, MP for Barking, east London, has been flagged as a “hate crime”.

The court heard how on July 18 2018, Dame Margaret’s parliamentary assistant answered an abusive phone call.

Nelson said: “Margaret should f*** off, you f***ing racist Zionist c***. You need to get out of the party and I hope you die, you Tory c***.”

Dame Margaret was also told by her parliamentary office staff about abusive emails that had been sent.

“After reading them I felt disturbed and rather shocked at the vitriol expressed,” she said in a statement read by the prosecutor.

“I considered the emails to be threatening and was left feeling nervous and unsure about my safety.

“For the first time, I now feel under threat because of my Jewish identity.”

Mr Nelson, of North Walsham in Norfolk, had made similar intimidating phone calls to the former Labour MP John Mann and to his staff at their parliamentary office in Westminster and at his constituency office in the seat of Bassetlaw, the court was told.

In one voicemail sent to the MP, who now serves as the government’s antisemitism adviser and a peer in the House of Lords, Mr Nelson told the parliamentarian “Kill yourself – when are you going to have a stroke?”

He later urged him to “get behind” Mr Corbyn or leave the Labour Party.

In a statement read in court, Lord Mann said the constant phone calls to him and his staff from Nelson meant they could not answer the phone to constituents out of fear.

“I call out racism and antisemitism, but the abuse and threats of violence have led to my staff asking me not to do so,” Lord Mann said.

Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot asked for clarification of the fact that Mr Nelson’s conduct had appeared to impact both Mr Mann and his staff.

In his statement, the peer also revealed that the intensity of Mr Nelson’s calls to his offices had increased after he appeared at the Enough Is Enough rally outside Parliament to express solidarity with the Jewish community – and when his local  Bassetlaw council voted to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism.

The court also heard how Dame Louise’s parliamentary assistant said she felt “extremely uncomfortable and distressed” after reading an email sent by Mr Nelson on August 2 2018, the court heard.

“Louise Ellman is a hypocritical Tory c*** who is so thick she is trying to smear Corbyn … resign or ritual Japanese suicide” it said.

The court heard how Dame Louise’s assistant confirmed that she believed Mr Nelson’s repeated calls and emails were “clearly a threat” both to herself and “to my boss.”

Defending Mr Nelson, Julian Young told the court: “In a parliamentary democracy, MPs of whatever party and whatever religious belief - and I’m Jewish myself so I know what antisemitism is and I’ve suffered it - are entitled to go about their duties on behalf of their constituents without having to face such conduct, and he accepts that,” he said.

“My client has given me written instructions and tenders a full apology to the three victims over the harm caused by his comments.”

He added his client, who said he was himself Jewish,  had “undiagnosed psychiatric difficulties” at the time of the offences and his mental health issues are now being dealt with by medication and treatment.

Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot adjourned sentencing to November 25 and told Mr Nelson that a custodial sentence was likely.

The JC reported in December 2018  how Mr Nelson was handed a 20-week prison sentence, suspended for a year, after admitting harassing then Jewish Labour MPs Luciana Berger and Ruth Smeeth in March and April that year.

He also was ordered to do 160 hours of community service, 20 days in rehab, and pay £250 in court costs and fees.

Mr Nelson was also banned under a restraining order from contacting Ms Berger or Ms Smeeth for the next five years.

Mr Nelson, from Norfolk, had pleaded guilty to three counts of sending a communication or article of an indecent or offensive nature at Bristol Magistrates’ court on 30 September.