Caroline Nokes: Southampton man admits threatening MP

Caroline Nokes MP said she would not tolerate abusive emails, the court hears

A man has been warned he could face prison after pleading guilty to sending threatening emails to a female MP.

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

The 33-year-old also admitted leaving abusive voicemails for Steve Smith, formerly of Southampton City Council.

He is due to be sentenced on 30 May.

Liam McCarthy faces charges of harassment

McCarthy first contacted Ms Nokes to raise a "lack of support for people aged between 18 and 25", prosecutor Victoria Hill said.

"He moved on to talk about issues he was having with the Department of Work and Pensions and a debt collection agency," she told Southampton Magistrates' Court.

"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, the court heard.

"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," Ms Hill said.

Ms Nokes responded, saying she would not tolerate threatening or abusive emails - but McCarthy's emails persisted into September.

Ms Hill went on: "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."

'Overtly threatening'

The voicemails to Mr Smith, former head of stronger communities, neighbourhoods and housing at Southampton City Council, were left between 14 and 21 November 2022.

Ms Hill described the voicemails, in which McCarthy threatened to "destroy" Mr Smith, as "more overtly threatening".

District Judge Anthony Callaway ordered a pre-sentence report to prepared in addition to a psychiatric report already carried out on the defendant.

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."

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