Man jailed after sending Angela Rayner abusive voicemails which left her 'scared out of her wits'

A man has been jailed for eight weeks after sending abusive voicemails to Ashton-under-Lyne MP Angela Rayner, which caused her to be scared for the safety of her family and to 'question' her job.

The Tameside MP and Labour deputy leader said she “burst into tears” and was left “scared out of her wits” after being targeted by Stuart Kelly, 53. Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard Kelly linked 41-year-old Ms Rayner’s comments at the Labour Party conference, calling Conservatives “scum”, in September last year to the death of Sir David Amess, 69.

On October 15 last year, the day the veteran Tory MP was stabbed to death at a surgery in his Leigh-on-Sea constituency in Essex by terrorist Ali Harbi Ali, 26, Kelly left three voicemail messages at Ms Rayner’s constituency office.

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One of the messages said: “I hope your potty mouth and your big Scouse gob is happy that a father of five children is dead you scum. You are the only scum on this earth. I hope you get shot just like that poor bloke. You contributed to his death, you dirty scum.”

In another, Kelly called Ms Rayner a “f****** Scouse scumbag”, while in a third he said: “Murderer, f****** murderer.” The machine operator pleaded guilty to sending offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing messages to Ms Rayner at Westminster Magistrates’ Court last month alongside Michael McGrath, 70, who sent an abusive email to Ms Rayner’s office.

Ms Rayner said in a statement that she is “no stranger” to criticism and has developed a “thick skin” during her career. “When I saw the content of the email and voicemails I burst into tears,” she said. “I am scared out of my wits, not only for my own safety but also the