A lawmaker from Britain's main opposition party was given a suspended jail sentence Thursday (4) after being found guilty of threatening to throw acid at another woman she harassed.
Labour MP Claudia Webbe was convicted at a trial last month of harassing a long-term friend of her boyfriend, including by threatening to put naked pictures of her online.
Judge Paul Goldspring said the 56-year-old MP's "callous and intimidatory" behaviour had been fuelled by jealousy and she had shown little remorse.
But he told Westminster Magistrates Court in central London that her previous good character had saved her from an immediate jail term.
Instead, he gave her a 10-week jail term, suspended for two years, meaning that if she reoffends during that period, she is liable to serve the custodial term.
He also ordered her to carry out 200 hours' community service, and pay costs.
Webbe, who denied the charge, was elected in December 2019 to the Leicester East constituency in central England formerly represented by Labour's Keith Vaz.
Vaz stood down just weeks before the general election after a parliamentary watchdog recommended he be suspended for six months for expressing a willingness to buy cocaine during an encounter with two male prostitutes.
A tabloid newspaper reported in 2016 that Vaz, posing as an industrial washing machine salesman called Jim, invited the pair to his flat and offered to pay for the drug.
Labour suspended Webbe over the case and she has sat as an independent. Her sentence could lead to a by-election if at least 10 percent of her constituents support it.
But Webbe said in a statement after the case that she was lodging an appeal against her conviction.
"I fully expect the appeal to be granted and that, ultimately, it will be successful," she added.
“Throughout this process, I have received numerous threats to my life and vile racist abuse. The cowards responsible for these attacks will not deter me from clearing my name," Webbe was quoted as saying by The Times.
Curator Emma Slocombe with ikat robes and arabachi coats in the Peter the Great Room in Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
View of the entrance to Blickling Hall on a rainy autumn dayAmit Roy 
Kente cloth from Ghana in the Long Gallery in Blickling Hall 
Decoration in the Great Hall at Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Palampore fragment made in coastal south-east India in the Brown Room in Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Bed valance dating from early 1700s in the Italian Print Room at Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Indian inspired fabric draped on sofas in the South Drawing Room in Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Indian inspired fabric draped on sofas in the South Drawing Room with Indian carpet in Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Karun Thakar has picked out the geometric patterns in the bookcase and the Kente cloth in the Long Gallery in Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Large tapestry depicting Peter the Great defeating the Swedish army at the Battle of Poltava in 1709 Amit Roy 
ikat robes and arabachi coats in the Peter the Great Room in Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Baghs and kanthas made by women provide contrast to the men only portraits in the Great Hall at Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Baghs and kanthas in the entrance Great Hall at Blickling Hall Amit Roy
Baghs and Kanthas in the Great Hall in harmony with stained glass window at Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Kimonos reflect Japanese influence in Upper Ante Room in Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Kimono in Upper Ante Room in Blickling Hall 
A view of the Palace and fort at Agra shows romantic side of India Amit Roy 
Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Table carpet, European 1670-1680 Amit Roy 
Unfinished 17th century Italian embroidery in the Print Room at Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Picture of Kashmir shows a romantic view of India Amit Roy 
A panel of Ashburnham bed hangings made in Gujarat for sale in Europe in the Brown Room in Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Colcha made in the 1600s by women in Bengal for the Portuguese market in the Long Gallery at Blickling Hall Amit Roy
