Man admits sending abusive email to Angela Rayner MP

23 Oct 2023 01:55 PM

A man has admitted sending a vile and abusive email to MP Angela Rayner following the publication of a national newspaper article about the politician.

David Perry, 66, recently (20 October 2023) pleaded guilty to charges of sending grossly offensive communication and indecent communication to the MP in May last year.

In the email, Perry part referenced a Mail on Sunday article, published 10 days earlier, which suggested Ms Rayner had crossed and uncrossed her legs to distract Boris Johnson during Prime Minister’s Questions.

Perry made crude and offensive references to Ms Rayner’s appearance and accused her of being a “puppet of the industrial military complex”.

He added:

“Please get off the news channels and go get a job in a fish factory.”

The email, which was sent to the constituency mailbox of Ms Rayner, was traced to Perry and he was arrested by Greater Manchester Police in July 2022.

In police interview, Perry accepted that the email address was his, but denied sending the email, claiming he had been hacked, but he was unable to produce any evidence to support his claims that his Wi-Fi or IT systems had been hacked by a third party.

In a victim personal statement, Ms Rayner said she was “appalled at the level of repugnant malice” directed towards her in the email and questioned why anyone would think it was acceptable to send such offensive words to a woman.

Perry, of Weybridge, Surrey, will be sentenced on 16 November at Staines Magistrates' Court. 

Rosemary Ainslie, head of the CPS Special Crime Division, recently said:

“Perry’s email was highly offensive and insulting to Ms Rayner, and his comments have no place in a civilised society.

“Neither she nor her constituency staff should have to be subjected to such vitriol – it is completely unacceptable.

“The public should know that they cannot simply send such grossly offensive communications without repercussions. Online communications can be traced and people breaking the law will be brought to justice."

Ms Rayner requested a Victim’s Right to Review (VRR) the initial decision not to prosecute Perry, and that decision was then overturned. 

Notes to Editors

• David Perry, [DOB: 12.02.57], is of Weybridge, Surrey.
• Charges
  1. Sending grossly offensive communications under Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003.
  2. Sending indecent communications under Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003.
• Victims’ Right to Review 
  The VRR scheme provides a victim with a specifically designed process to exercise the right to review certain CPS decisions not to start a prosecution or to stop a prosecution. If a new decision is required, it may be appropriate to institute or reinstitute criminal proceedings.
  The right to request a review of a decision not to prosecute under the VRR scheme applies to decisions that have the effect of being final made by every Crown Prosecutor, regardless of their grade or position in the organisation.
  It is important to note that the “right” referred to in the context of the VRR scheme is the right to request a review of a final decision. It is not a guarantee that proceedings will be instituted or reinstituted.
  Following a review under the scheme, qualifying decisions not to charge, to discontinue, and to withdraw can be instituted or reinstituted, subject to any statutory time limits. There are two possible review outcomes:
  1. A New Decision: when the earlier decision is overturned.
  2. Uphold Previous Decision: the original decision not to prosecute is upheld, and the victim notified and provided with an explanation.