An obsessive stalker who bombarded BBC presenter Emily Maitlis with letters has been jailed for a further nine months after he tried to write to his victim's mum from prison.
Edward Vines, 52, told a court he would now stop writing to the former Newsnight presenter following a 27-year 'fixation' which saw him sentenced to eight years in prison last September. He was locked up for writing a series of letters from behind bars declaring his love for her during his stay at HMP Nottingham after previously being jailed for harassing her.
In one of his letters to the journalist, he told her he would “continue to brood and to write letters in prison”, unless she spoke to him about “her behaviour” while they were at Cambridge University together in 1990.
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A court heard while awaiting sentencing for breaching his restraining order 20 times, Vines also tried to write to Ms Maitlis' mum Marian between July and August last year. The letter was intercepted by staff at HMP Nottingham after he was convicted but before he received his eight-year jail term.
Vines pleaded guilty to attempting to breach his restraining order and has now been handed a concurrent jail sentence of nine-and-a-half months. Representing himself in court today, March 14, Vines apologised to Ms Maitlis for the first time and vowed to now stop sending her letters.
He said: “I would merely like to say that since July when I posted the letter after a rather difficult time in court, I feel I have made some progress on this matter. I would like to apologise and to say that that was the last letter I will be sending and don’t intend to repeat these actions.
"I hope that this satisfies you My Honour that we can put this matter behind us. I regret and accept responsibility that I have caused her distressed over the years and this shows my progress.”
Judge Mark Watson said he would not extend the jail term as he accepted the apology and pointed out it was the first time Vines had shown remorse. A restraining order issued for life banning contact with Ms Maitlis or her mother still remains in place.
Sentencing, Judge Watson said: “I have reminded myself of the trial that led to your conviction on July 25 last year and of the sentencing remarks too. I have also reread the two reports from your doctor and medical reports from that case.
“The matter is that the letter was sent by you very close to the date of your sentencing and sent by you in intense turmoil. The letter is again an outpouring of injustice of what you thought then was your right to reach out.
“You made it clear in your letter you would continue in your quest to get justice at their [Emily and her family’s] expense. I accept that the views were genuinely held by you at the time. I recognise that this had been a product of your mental health and I will take this into consideration.
“It is the sheer persistence of breaching your court order, with this being more than the 20th occasion that makes this breach very serious. But this was an attempt and no actual harm was caused by you. Although there is no evidence of harm shown from the victim, I need to think about the harm that could have been caused.
“This is the first time in your offending that you have accepted responsibility, and this is significant progress from September and I accept your apology given. Because of this change in attitude I do not intend to increase the sentence so the sentence of nine and a half months will run concurrently to the September sentencing and the restraining order I made on the last case will continue to run."
He added: “I hope this is the last time we meet.”
Sergeant Carl Holland, of Nottinghamshire Police, said after the case: “I am pleased Vines has once again been held accountable for his actions. During the trial, he acknowledged he understood he was prohibited from contacting Ms Maitlis and her family – yet he continued to write letters out of sheer arrogance and disdain for the court orders made to protect them.
“In this latest case, all eight letters were intercepted by prison staff and so Vines’ only accomplishment was to significantly extend his detention at Her Majesty’s pleasure. Sadly, he is wasting his life by continuing this futile campaign of harassment. We can only hope reality now finally dawns on him and he stops committing these offences."
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