Ashfield MP Lee Anderson slams 'vile' online abuse as man fined for 'menacing' messages

Leeds man, Ciaran Bergin, 30, of Spring Grove Walk, appeared at Leeds Magistrates' Court on August 28.

He faced two charges of sending ‘grossly offensive or menacing messages’ to Reform MP Lee Anderson.

One message, as seen by your Chad, included a challenge to a physical altercation at Leeds Train Station.

The two messages were sent on July 3, 2023, and contained a number of offensive and obscene comments about the Ashfield MP.

The messages also contained threats to the MP and his family, causing concern for Mr Anderson who felt the sentencing was “too light”.

In a tweet on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Mr Anderson said: “This imbecile decided to send vile messages to me.

“His IP address was easily found, and he pleaded guilty in court. I suspect if he'd been 'far right', the sentence would have been much stiffer.”

In email screenshots shared on X by Mr Anderson, one message read: “you fat inbred c***”, along with an invitation to “scrap” outside Leeds Train Station.

Another screenshot shared by the MP shows a threat of burning Mr Anderson's house down.

At Leeds Magistrates' Court, Bergin pleaded guilty to two counts of sending offensive, indecent, obscene, or menacing messages over a public communication network, which goes against section 127(1)(b) and (3) of the Communications Act 2003.

He was fined £400 for each offense, and the guilty plea was taken into account.

Additionally, he was issued a restraining order and is prohibited from contacting Lee Anderson MP directly or indirectly.

Your Chad contacted Mr Anderson for a comment about the incident.

He said: “The police have done an outstanding job on this case; I cannot thank them enough.

“I am disappointed with the light sentence, however.

“This individual threatened to burn my house down and rape my family to mention just a few of the threats made to me.

“A man who threatened to kill Ed Miliband was recently sent to prison for 3 years.

“This inconsistency is not good enough.

“Anyone threatened needs to know they will be protected fully and there will be no two-tier justice”.