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Former nurse sentenced for sending racist ‘grooming gangs’ abuse to MP Naz Shah

<p>Ms Shah told the court she has received racist and abusive messages during her time as an MP</p> (PA Archive/PA Images)

Ms Shah told the court she has received racist and abusive messages during her time as an MP

(PA Archive/PA Images)

A former nurse who sent a racist message to MPNaz Shah saying grooming gangs and FGM victims would welcome her Shadow Cabinet promotion has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Ian Brown, 61, fired off the email to the Labour MP for Bradford West in April last year, two days after she had been promoted to Sir Keir Starmer’s front bench as Minister for Community Cohesion.

He wrote: “I’m sure victims of P*** grooming gang, FGM, forced marriages and honour killings are happy at your appointment.

“Nurses, sexually assaulted and stalked by P****, are especially pleased. Here’s an idea, f*** off.”

Westminster Magistrates’ court heard the MP was left “shocked” when she read the email on April 11 last year.

“The language is abusive in nature and unacceptable in the 21st Century “, she said, in a victim impact statement.

“It is deeply saddening that people use this language towards others based on their race.”

She added: “Any human being would see this language as hateful. It’s not nice to read at all.”

Julian Waskett, mitigating for Brown, called the incident an “aberration” from a man with no previous convictions and experience of helping others, including three days a week at a food bank.

“He is a good man who has let himself down badly”, he said. “He said he was angry when he sent the email.”

The court heard Brown was easily traced as he had signed off the email with his own name and address.

Ms Shah told the court she has received racist and abusive messages during her time as an MP. She received an apology from the Leave.EU campaign group after she was falsely slurred as a “grooming gangs apologist” in December 2019.

Sentencing Brown today, Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring said: “The use of the term P*** is abhorrent, I don’t believe there is anyone in 2021 who still believes it is anything other than a racial slur.

“You used these words deliberately and you chose the topics and subject matter.”

He added that MPs should be free to do their jobs “without fear of being subjected to racist abuse.”

The judge added that he “has doubts about the genuineness” of Brown’s professed remorse.

Kris Venkatasami, from the CPS, said: “This was a shocking and racist message sent to an elected member of Parliament who was left deeply saddened by the hateful language directed at her.

“The defendant had no qualms in sending his offensive email and even brazenly signed it off with his name and full address. When questioned by police, he refused to acknowledge that the email had been racially motivated and abusive, instead saying he believed a particular ethnic group was misogynistic, that it should be rooted out and that he was only being politically incorrect.”

Brown, who pleaded guilty to sending an offensive, indecent, obscene, or menacing message, was handed a six-week prison sentence, suspended for two years.

He was ordered to pay £100 compensation to Ms Shah, carry out 80 hours of community service, and also pay £213 in costs and fees.

Brown is banned from contacting Ms Shah for the next six months.

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