Man who sent threatening emails to MP Caroline Nokes could face prison term

A 33-year-old man has been warned he faces a possible prison sentence after pleading guilty to sending threatening emails to a female MP.

Liam McCarthy, of Copperfield Road, Southampton, admitted “continuously” sending emails and leaving voicemails for Caroline Nokes, Conservative MP for Romsey and Southampton North, between May 15 2022 and March 4 2023.

He also admitted leaving threatening voicemails for Steve Smith, former head of stronger communities, neighbourhoods and housing, at Southampton City Council between November 14 and 21 2022.

Victoria Hill, prosecuting, told Southampton Magistrates’ Court that the defendant first contacted Ms Nokes to raise a “lack of support for people aged between 18 and 25”.

Ms Hill said: “He moved on to talk about issues he was having with the Department of Work and Pensions and a debt collection agency.

“They didn’t end up seeing one another because the defendant cancelled his appointment because he felt unprepared.

“The emails continued and in August 2022 they started to become threatening. At that stage the defendant was saying he would become violent towards members of the Department for Work and Pensions, he said he would kill them, he followed that up by saying he wouldn’t kill them but would really hurt them.

“Caroline Nokes MP responded saying she wouldn’t tolerate threatening or abusive emails but the emails continued from August into September in the same vein.

“There were repeated emails over quite some period. At one point he was threatening to destroy another MP, Alan Whitehead. He was making implied threats to her saying she was on his list along with other people.

“He was eventually arrested with bail conditions not to contact her and continued to contact her.”

Describing the voicemails to Mr Smith, Ms Hill said: “They were more overtly threatening. He said things like, ‘I will find you, I will f****** destroy you, I swear to god, I mean that as a threat.”

District Judge Anthony Callaway ordered a pre-sentence report to prepared in addition to a psychiatric report already carried out on the defendant and adjourned the case to be sentenced on May 30.

He told McCarthy: “People going about their business as an MP or otherwise, as Mr Smith was, are entitled to go about their business without fear of being threatened.

“This is a very serious matter and in my judgment possibly passes the custody threshold.”