A journalist has appeared in court charged with stalking former chancellor George Osborne and his wife Thea Rogers for more than a year.
Lydia Suffield, 27, is said to have sent emails and Instagram messages to the couple and to have filed false referrals to children’s charity the NSPCC between June 8 2022 and July 5 last year, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard on Monday.
Rhianne Neil, prosecuting, said Suffield had also contacted close friends and family of the couple as well as work colleagues.
She said the allegations made against the couple by Suffield included drug abuse, and that the accused had sent them a present said to be for their young children.
This prompted the couple to pay for extra security at their wedding, she added.
Suffield, who is a freelance journalist, appeared in court wearing a bright red shirt and and black suit trousers.
She spoke only to confirm her name, age and address, and to indicate a not guilty plea.
Alexandra-Maria Eugenicos, defending, told the court that any communications sent by her client were in her professional capacity as a journalist.
District Judge Annabel Pilling sent the matter to crown court for trial.
Suffield, from Liverpool, will next appear at Isleworth Crown Court for a plea and trial preparation hearing on January 6.
Osborne married Rogers, a former adviser, on July 8 2023.
