LONDON: A 21-year-old man has been sentenced to 14 weeks in prison and given a two-year restraining order for sending racist death threats to former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in June last year.
Liam Shaw, from Birkenhead, Merseyside, pleaded guilty to sending two offensive and threatening emails to Sunak’s parliamentary email address, the UK Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said. The emails were noticed by Sunak’s personal assistant and reported to the police.
“Liam Shaw took to his phone that night to send racist and threatening messages to a person in an extremely important public office,” said Matthew Dixon, Senior Crown Prosecutor at CPS Mersey Cheshire. “Racist abuse has no place, anywhere, in this day and age.”
Police traced the emails to Shaw’s address and the hostel where he was staying. Arrested on September 3, 2024, he initially claimed, “I don’t even remember sending an email. I was probably drunk.” He was interviewed at a Liverpool police station but remained silent, and was later charged with two counts of sending offensive messages via a public communication network.
Last month, Shaw appeared at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court and pleaded guilty to both counts. He was sentenced last Wednesday to 14 weeks in prison, to run concurrently, with the sentence suspended for 12 months under strict conditions. He must also complete 20 days of rehabilitation activities and a six-month drug rehabilitation course.
“Direct access to your constituency MP is a cornerstone of democracy. Misusing that access is detrimental to the democratic process,” said District Judge Timothy Boswell.
The court also imposed a two-year restraining order, barring Shaw from contacting Sunak or his constituency office.
“The work of members of Parliament is extremely important, and the police and CPS play their part in keeping them safe,” Dixon said. “This case clearly crossed the line from unacceptable behavior into criminality.”
