Jeremy Corbyn supporter spared jail after sending antisemitic abuse and threats to MPs was Labour Party member

It can also be revealed that when the then Labour MP Lord Mann attempted to raise fears about his and other MPs’ safety at the 2018 annual party conference as a result of threats received from Mr Nelson and from another individual, then General Secretary Jennie Formby failed to respond to his request in time to discover if the left-wing fanatic had been granted a pass to the event.

Sentencing Mr Nelson on Wednesday , Mr Ikram told the central London court: “I’m of the view that these offences are so serious that they cross the custody threshold.”

But he said he could not enforce a prison sentence  because it was “now two years down the road”  and during this time there appeared to have been no further offences.

Mr Nelson was previously handed a 20-week prison sentence, suspended for a year, in December 2018 after admitting harassing then Labour MPs Luciana Berger and Ruth Smeeth, both of whom are Jewish, in April of that year.

Had the judge known about all the offences in 2018, along with another conviction for harassing a journalist, he said  he would have jailed Mr Nelson back then.

Mr Nelson had pleaded guilty last month to three counts of sending communications of an offensive nature between July and September 2018  to Dame Margaret, MP for Barking; Dame Louise, the former Liverpool Riverside MP; and Lord Mann, who represented the seat of Bassetlaw at the time.

On Wednesday Prosecutor Jason Seetal told the court that the offence against Dame Margaret, who is Jewish, was "religiously aggravated" and  highlighted a July 18 2018 phone call to her office.

Mr Nelson had 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***."

In another call the same day, he added: "Margaret Hodge is an apartheid-supporting disgusting scumbag bitch."

In her victim impact statement, the Jewish Labour Movement’s parliamentary chair said: "I considered the emails to be threatening and was left feeling nervous and unsure about my personal safety.

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

Sentencing Mr Nelson on Wednesday, Mr Ikram said: “People should feel able to come forward and serve as MPs without fear of violence and threat.

“Certain communities have felt particularly under threat.

"And these courts will send a clear message to those who threaten members of those communities, who attack them because of their faith and race."

The deputy magistrate also confirmed that he would have jailed  Mr Nelson had he sentenced him for all of the offences in 2018.

But he added: "I have considered carefully whether I can suspend the sentences and I felt just about able to do so.

"That doesn't take away the seriousness of the offences. That simply reflects we are now two years down the road, that there have been no further offences and that I see you are now seeking the assistance of a psychiatrist and dealing with issues you say were a feature of your life then."

Assessing Mr Nelson’s communications with the three MPs, he said: "They are the most vulgar, obscene, threatening vocabulary I can think of.

"I took a very serious view in December 2018. I did so then and I do so now because there has been a significant increase in threats made to MPs - threats of violence, threats based on their faith and on race.

"It's something I have not encountered previously, but over the last couple of years this has become commonplace."

The court also heard Dame Louise's parliamentary assistant James Floyd  saying he felt "extremely uncomfortable and distressed" after reading an email sent by Mr Nelson on August 2 2018.

"Louise Ellman is a hypocritical Tory c*** who is so thick she is trying to smear (then Labour leader Jeremy) Corbyn with an event she herself attended," it said.

Lord Mann received an abusive phone message that was played in court, on September 3 2018, which said: "Kill yourself. When are you going to have a stroke?"

The court had previously heard how details of  an abusive phone call answered by a staffer to Lord Mann, then MP for Bassetlaw, on September 3, 2018. 

The female staffer said: “I answered a call at 10:02. The maker of the call started being abusive. I said, sorry whose this?

“He said it was Nicholas Nelson and that I was working for a f***ing idiot. He said I was a f***ing tart and that I should suck his d***.”

In another voicemail Mr Nelson yelled: “Do something useful, kill yourself! When are you going to have a stroke? Get behind Corbyn or leave the party.”

Lord Mann said in a statement: “I call out racism and antisemitism, however the abuse which has arisen from my comments has led to staff asking me not to do so.

“As a member of parliament I've received threats over many years but none were like the ones I received from Mr Nelson.”

He said parliamentary staff suffered anxiety issues and became reluctant to answer the telephone in case it was Nelson. 

The JC understands that one letter sent by Lord Mann in September 2018 to find out if Mr Nelson and another individual were attending the party  conference in Liverpool  later that month went unanswered by Mr Formby for several months.

And other MPs  to be sent threatening messages by Mr Nelson included former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson and MP Wes Streeting.

Eventually apologising to Lord Mann, Ms Formby confirmed in December 2018  she had launched an “immediate investigation” into the failure to protect MPs which she said was “completely unacceptable.”

Ms Formby confirmed Mr Nelson had been suspended by Labour at the time of the 2018 party conference.

Both Lord Mann and Dame Magaret did not attend the Liverpool event - partly over safety concerns,. Ms Berger was given police protection outside the conference venue.

Julian Young, defending Nelson, who was supported by his parents in court, said: "He's ashamed of his conduct."

He read a letter from Mr Nelson, which confirmed his Labour Party membership, which said: "I want to offer a full apology to Louise Ellman, Margaret Hodge and John Mann for the harm caused by my conduct."

Mr Nelson was also sentenced to a 30-day rehabilitation order, 240 hours of unpaid work and told to pay a total of £200 in victim surcharge and costs.

He is no longer a member of the Labour Party.