Man jailed for stalking Cheshire Labour MP and handed restraining order

A man has been jailed for stalking a Labour MP. Benjamin Scott-Thrale, 32, first contacted the City of Chester MP, Samantha Dixon, to request help with a family problem in June 2023.

Mrs Dixon told Scott-Thrale later that month there was nothing more she could to do to help and suggested he seek legal advice. Scott-Thrale then began to harass and stalk Mrs Dixon by making phone calls, sending emails and calling into her constituency office. It continued for seven months.

Scott-Thrale appeared at Warrington Magistrates Court where he was sentenced to six weeks imprisonment. The courts also issued a two year restraining order and a 12 month post sentence supervision he must comply with. The 32-year-old of Griffin Close, Chester, was found guilty of stalking involving serious alarm / distress.

The restraining order says Scott-Thrale must not enter the grounds or the area around the House of Commons, post, publish or distribute anything digitally or physically referencing or relating to Samantha Dixon or members of her staff, attend any place or location he knows or ought to know Samantha Dixon to be, contact, approach or follow Samantha Dixon, by any means, including via third parties and social media, or enter The Bluecoat Centre in Chester.

The police arrested and charged Scott-Thrale after he rang the MP's office again on January 30th 2024, saying he would continue to until he had a face to face meeting in which she helped him

During the trial at Warrington Magistrates Court, the court heard how Scott-Thrale had first contacted their MP for help regarding an ongoing legal dispute. The MP and her staff did what they could to assist him but when they informed him there wasn’t anything more they could do, his communications became increasingly threatening and intimidating.

Dissatisfied with the response, Scott-Thrale began making multiple attempts to contact the victim via calls and emails, demanding that she intervene in his situation. His contact continued to be of a threatening nature towards his MP, resulting in him being spoken to by officers in August 2023 and warned to cease all attempts to contact, but he was not deterred.

The threats and barrage of abuse continued, and on Wednesday January 24th 2024, Scott-Thrale attended the victim’s constituency office demanding to see her. On Tuesday 20 February 2024, officers attended Scott-Thrale’s home address and he was arrested on suspicion of stalking and remanded into custody.

Scott-Thrale’s response when arrested was: “What’s the definition of stalking? It involves a course of conduct against one person. I haven’t stalked one person.”

Despite Scott-Thrale admitting all of the attempts to contact the victim, he plead not guilty to the charge of stalking. Despite his denial, Warrington Magistrates Court found him guilty.

Following the sentencing, PC Morgan Bower, of Cheshire Constabulary's Harm Reduction Unit, said: “Scott-Thrale became fixated on the victim and chose to intimidate her when not getting the outcome he wanted.

“Scott-Thrale reached out to the victim for help with his legal dispute, and she did all she could to assist him, before informing him that sadly there were no further ways she could help on numerous occasions.

“Instead of expressing appreciation for her and her team’s time and efforts trying their best to assist him, Scott-Thrale chose to view this as an injustice against him, and embarked upon a campaign of abuse, bombarding her with emails, calls, and turning up at her office.

“Scott-Thrale has shown no remorse for his actions throughout the course of this investigation or any appreciation for how his actions affected the victim and her team. Scott-Thrale has now been held accountable for his actions and I welcome sentence handed by the courts.

“This case highlights how anyone can become a victim of stalking, and the psychological and emotional impact it can have on those it affects. This type of behaviour will not be tolerated in Cheshire, and I hope that anyone who thinks they may be a victim of this crime to come forward”.

Senior Crown Prosecutor Simon Green, of CPS Mersey Cheshire, said: “The Crown Prosecution Service said that Benjamin Scott-Thrale pursued a deliberate and persistent campaign of stalking and harassment against his local MP when he realised she couldn’t give him what he wanted.

“His constant emails, phone calls and visits to the office were meant to threaten her and leave her with the impression that he was always there, in the background and would continue to be.

“Polite requests from the MP and her staff to stop the contact and seek legal advice were ignored as was the formal request from the police. His behaviour became criminal and the CPS has successfully prosecuted him for it.

“Members of Parliament perform a vital role in our democracy and it is essential that they are able to represent their constituents without fear. The prosecution of people who threaten this is a key priority for the CPS. Benjamin Scott-Thrale jeopardised that role and now has a criminal record.”