Advertisement

Racist landlord banned from contacting local council after 10-year abuse campaign

Fergus Wilson has been banned for life from contacting his local council directly after a 10 year campaign of abuse. (SWNS)
Fergus Wilson has been banned for life from contacting his local council directly after a 10 year campaign of abuse. (SWNS)

A landlord who once banned “coloured tenants” from his properties has been told he must never directly contact his local council again after a 10-year campaign of abuse.

After losing a High Court battle, multi-millionaire landlord Fergus Wilson, 72, was handed a permanent injunction, stopping him from contacting Ashford Borough Council in Kent.

The previous temporary injunction was made permanent, meaning that Wilson will only be able to contact the council workers through a named legal advisor.

The court was told that Wilson sent hundreds of unpleasant letters, emails and phone calls, complaining about officers, councillors and legal representatives and repeatedly told councillors to kill themselves.

Wilson has previously attracted controversy after his racist practice of banning “coloured tenants” in his properties was overthrown by the courts in 2017.

Fergus Wilson once banned 'coloured tenants' from his properties. (SWNS)
Fergus Wilson once banned 'coloured tenants' from his properties. (SWNS)

The council’s representative, Adam Solomon QC, handed more than 454 copies of correspondence sent by Wilson to council officials in the space of just over four years, between February 2016 and July 2020.

Solomon told the court that some workers had received rude emails from Wilson on a daily basis.

He said: “Officers, employees and councillors felt bullied and distressed, being unable to respond properly to allegations, some of them being reduced to tears.”

Included in Solomon’s summary were the copies of the aggressive letters and emails that had been sent to council members and associated workers.

One letter sent to council leader Gerry Clarkson's home address called him "a buffoon", "an a**", "a bag of ****" and encouraged him to "do all the young people in Ashford a service and commit suicide".

In another abusive email, Wilson had referred to a female member of staff as an “objectionable fat lady” when calling for her to be fired.

In a lengthy summary statement, Daryl Allen QC said that he had “no hesitation” when making the ruling.

Mr Allen QC continued: “The defendant’s conduct repeatedly went far beyond merely irritating and annoying, it was deliberately offensive.

Fergus Wilson will only be able to contact the council workers through a named legal advisor. (SWNS)
Fergus Wilson will only be able to contact the council workers through a named legal advisor. (SWNS)

“It included numerous unfounded allegations of professional misconduct and criminal conduct.

“It included multiple threats of criminal or other legal proceedings which were never pursued.”

In support of the argument that his conduct was in fact, appropriate, Wilson reportedly submitted a photo of himself taken with the hashtag “Fat ****” written underneath.

In response to this, Solomon said: “The argument goes, insofar as it is coherent, is that if it is OK for people to call the defendant a “fat ****”, it is okay for him to refer to [the victim] in the way that he does.”

A local authority spokesman said: “The council is delighted with the judgment handed down today, confirming that the terms of the interim injunction obtained in July 2020 preventing Mr Wilson from continuing to harass council staff and councillors are now embodied in a final (permanent) injunction.

“The judgment has vindicated the council’s decision to take the unusual step of resorting to litigation in order to protect its staff and councillors.”

Watch: Race row landlord sues YouTuber