Diane Abbott death threat: Pensioner who threatened to torch MP’s house in vile racist letter gets 12-month community order
In a letter sent to the office of Diane Abbott MP Roy Douglas Brown threatened to torch her house and car with the member of parliament trapped inside. Picture: PA/LAUREN HURLEY - Credit: PA WIRE
A pensioner has admitted sending a racist letter to veteran Hackney MP Diane Abbott in which he described her as “black vermin”.
Roy Douglas Brown, 69, of Dunspring Lane, Barkingside, admitted sending a letter to Ms Abbott at her office in the Houses of Commons conveying an offensive or indecent message.
Barkingside Magistrates’ Court heard yesterday (May 2) that a shamed Brown had sent a letter to Parliament saying he would send “black vermin, thugs, druggies, gangs, car thieves, machetes and scum to Diane Abbott’s house.”
He menacingly wrote that he would “burn her house and her car with Abbott trapped inside.”
He also said that she was “fat enough” to be used as a shield.
You may also want to watch:
And the pensioner, who had never offended before, recalled “the blacks who murdered Pc Blakelock.”
PC Keith Henry Blakelock was murdered in 1985 in the Broadwater Farm riot at the housing estate in Tottenham, north London.
Most Read
- 1 Prospect of £10K fine after Stamford Hill wedding
- 2 Man sentenced for assault on Homerton Hospital nurse
- 3 This isn't a funny column - Covid killed my father
- 4 Hackney ‘poised’ to undertake school closures after drop in pupil numbers
- 5 Investigation launched after Stamford Hill lockdown wedding
- 6 Police seize lock and 'Rambo-style' knifes in London Fields
- 7 Man sentenced after teenage boy groomed on Snapchat to sell heroin
- 8 Campaigners launch legal challenge against Hackney LTNs
- 9 Covid vaccination hub opening in Westfield next week
- 10 Jailed: 'Dangerous' Hackney predator found with 1,600 indecent child images
The pensioner confessed to police that his bizarre ramble to the shadow home secretary had been in retaliation over riots in Haringey in 2011.
He was traced by detectives after his DNA was found on the letter. In a police interview, he admitted his guilt.
The 69-year-old said he considered the riot’s perpetrators to be “vermin” and told police that the majority of offenders were black and that is why he believed them to be “black vermin.”
Abbott’s parliamentary assistant, who opened the letter on August 8 last year, said she found the contents to be “deeply offensive” and that it caused “distress.”
Brown’s defence counsel Farhana Rahman-Cook said her client had “vulnerabilities” adding: “He’s completely embarrassed by being in front of the court.”
In his statement, District Judge Gary Lucie said that a letter by Brown shown to the court showed his remorse following the incident.
He added: “I accept that you are not racist, but the letter does refer to black people and that makes the offence more serious,” he said.
He gave Brown a 12-month community order and ordered him to complete a 10-day rehabilitation order.
He was also ordered to pay £85 in costs.