A protester who stalked Sir Gavin Williamson for 20 minutes through London and dubbed him a "dead man walking" has been handed a suspended prison sentence.
Simon Parry, 45, harassed and intimidated the senior Conservative politician in two incidents, on May 24 and June 14, after spotting Sir Gavin in Whitehall.
In the second incident, Parry suggested he could detain Sir Gavin as he followed the former cabinet minister through central London, and he flashed a badge attached to a wallet which read “law enforcement officer”.
He also told Sir Gavin: “I could arrest you right now if I wanted to.”
Parry was convicted of stalking following a trial, and at Westminster magistrates court on Thursday he was handed a 10-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months.
Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram ordered him to carry out 100 hours of community service and attend 20 days of rehabilitation.
“It’s quite clear to me that you conducted yourself in an intimidating manner that day”, he said.
The judge added that evidence at trial and comments to a probation officer show Parry continues to have a concerning attitude towards MPs.
“You think this is an appropriate way to challenge Members of Parliament”, he said. “Be clear it is not.”
Parry is also banned from contacting Sir Gavin for the next five years, and he must pay £500 costs and a £154 victim surcharge. Giving evidence last month, Sir Gavin said he "felt incredibly threatened" during the encounters with Parry, and he has now changed the routes he walks through London.In an impact statement, he said: “It was obvious Mr Parry was trying to createa hostile and threatening atmosphere, trying to make me feel as uncomfortable as possible.”
He said Parry’s decision to film and livestream their encounters was also “hostile”, adding: “I appreciate that everyone has the right to express themselves on social media, but verbally attacking someone for 20 minutes doesn’t feel appropriate.”
In the second incident, Parry was heard claiming the Met Police have “given us the green light to make a citizen’s arrest on an MP”.
He voiced anti-vaccine views, questioned the need for pandemic lockdowns, and spoke about a series of conspiracy theories involving Bill Gates and the World Economic Forum.
Giving evidence, Sir Gavin said: “I heard quite a bit of it – I could sense there were quite a lot of extreme views being expressed all the way, continually hostile views being directed at yourself.
“I felt quite concerned there was an individual that wasn’t being totally rational and was being very aggressive towards myself as I went.”
Sir Gavin said he was on the phone to a constituent who had just lost her dog at the time, and he considered stopping to talk to Parry but did not want to“give him a reaction”.
“The persistence in terms of following me was quite disturbing at this time”,he said.
“It was quite obvious this individual was quite hostile to myself.
“When it happens to you, it feels a lot longer period of time – it feltincreasingly threatening.”
Parry pursued Sir Gavin from Whitehall towards Tottenham Court Road, andcontinued the pursuit even after the politician changed routes in a bid to losehim.
On the recording, Parry is heard saying “these MPs are going to start gettingarrested soon. They know they are going to get arrested soon, they can’t getaway with this for much longer”.
He said politicians “have the blood of our children on their hands” and added: “That’s a dead man walking”.
Sir Gavin has been MP for South Staffordshire since 2010 and served in cabinet as defence secretary before becoming education secretary under Boris Johnson in 2019.
In the first incident, on May 24, Sir Gavin said he was heading to Parliament and has just passed a group of protesters when he noticed a person walking in “close proximity” to him. He then realised he was being filmed and “didn’t want to engage in that conversation”, he said.
“It at no stage felt like a normal conversation”, he said. “I took the decision to get on to the Parliamentary estate as quickly as possible.”
Asked how the incident made him feel, he said: “It was someone who was quite angry towards you, someone not really wanting to have a discussion, but rather express their views or anger or dissatisfaction at you.
“It felt very unpleasant. It’s not really what you want.
“As an MP, you get a lot of people approaching you all the time. People approach you with concerns and wanting to discuss them. It’s done in a very different manner to that.”
Parry, of no fixed address, was accompanied to court by supporters including Piers Corbyn, whose address was originally given to the court as a contact.
The court heard he is receiving benefits, with £10 a fortnight now being deducted to settle the legal bill.
