Sunderland man jailed after social media 'Jo Cox' threat to city councillor

Stephen Edward Campbell, 36, of North Ravensworth Street, pleaded guilty to a charge of sending an offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing message last month and appeared at South Tyneside Magistrates Court for sentence.

Glenda Beck, prosecuting, read a statement from Sandhill ward member Coun Debra Waller in which she said: “I am a Labour councillor. I was reading an article on the Echo Facebook page – the article was about child poverty.

“There were a number of comments and I made two. There were several replies and I got into a discussion.

“I went to bed and on May 23, checked the Facebook article again. There was a comment from Stephen Edward Campbell saying: ‘Debra Waller, taking s***e like that might lead you to live the same lifestyle as Jo Cox’.

“I replied ‘Is that a threat?’ and he did not reply.

“I presumed this comment to be a threat against me, as he mentioned me by name”

Labour MP Jo Cox was murdered in 2016 during the Brexit campaign.

“I do not know who the male is, what the male is capable of or what his intentions are. I am worried for the safety of myself and my family,” said Coun Waller said in a statement read in court.

Anna Metcalfe, in mitigation, said: “There was a certain lack of understanding from Mr Campbell. I think his interest in politics is minimal.

“He accepts sending the message. He was in company with two other people at the time and I think that he may have been swayed by peer pressure.”

Campbell, along with wife Helen, 42, admitted four animal welfare offences – one of causing unnecessary suffering to a dog and three of failing in the duty of a person responsible for ensuring an animal’s welfare relating to a number of dogs and cats.

He was jailed for 12 weeks on the animal welfare charges and consecutively for the Facebook post. She was given an 18-month sentence, suspended for a year. Both were banned from keeping animals for five years.