Angela Rayner felt 'great concern' about threats, court told

Angela Rayner felt 'great concern' about threats, court told

Angela Rayner experienced “great concern” after receiving threatening and abusive voicemails targeting both her and her son, a court was informed. These messages caused significant distress not only to Rayner herself but also to her family and staff, who endured “great stress and anxiety,” according to the proceedings at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

The individual responsible, Elizabeth Harker, aged 63 and from Luton, admitted to sending a total of four menacing voicemails aimed at Rayner. She has entered a guilty plea to the charge of transmitting communications that were “grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character.” Her sentencing is scheduled for 24 March.

In a victim impact statement presented during the hearing, Rayner conveyed her emotional response to the abuse. She stated, “I have not listened to the recording, however I have been advised by my office manager that the threats were made with malice.” She further described the perpetrator’s conduct as “unacceptable,” expressing that it left her feeling “distressed and alarmed.” One particular voicemail included a direct threat: “You don’t know what is coming to you.”

Investigators traced these harassing calls back to Harker by linking them to a mobile phone registered at her home address. Harker did not appear in court during Monday’s hearing. Additional evidence was presented about a separate incident involving Harker, who sent an offensive handwritten note containing slurs such as “paedo” and derogatory phrases like “drop dead scrounge” to another woman in Luton. Harker also admitted to sending that indecent or offensive communication. Her defense lawyer, Lewis Green, revealed that Harker has struggled with alcohol misuse for around three decades, although she reportedly drinks less than before. Following the hearing, Harker was granted conditional bail and instructed to undergo an assessment for alcohol treatment before sentencing

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