Anna Soubry threat: Man jailed for letter telling MP 'Cox was first you are next'

Anna Soubry pictured last month
Jacob King/PA
Jacob Jarvis15 November 2019
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

A man who sent a "sickening" letter to Anna Soubry which said she would be murdered like MP Jo Cox has been jailed for 12 months.

Ms Soubry was sent the post, which read “COX WAS FIRST YOU ARE NEXT”, by Alden Bryce Barlow, 55, from Doncaster.

The letter arrived at Ms Soubry’s constituency office in Broxtowe, Nottingham, on October 14.

It was opened by a member of staff, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

Barlow admitted sending a letter conveying a threatening message and was sentenced to 12 months in jail at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday.

Labour MP Jo Cox was murdered by a far-Right extremist in 2016
PA

He was also given a 10-year restraining order against Ms Soubry, who is standing as a candidate for The Independent Group for Change (TIGfC) in the general election.

Barlow was traced using fingerprint analysis alongside CCTV from the post office counter in Doncaster, where he posted the letter.

Ms Soubry, leader of the TIGfC, was previously a Conservative MP. She had several ministerial jobs under David Cameron.

Chief Crown prosecutor Gerry Wareham called the note “sickening” and “ominous” and described it as an “attack on democracy”.

He said: “Ms Soubry and her staff in the constituency office understandably found the message deeply disturbing and highly offensive.

“I hope the sentence Barlow received today is of some comfort to Ms Soubry and her colleagues and a deterrent to anyone else contemplating such despicable actions against a parliamentary representative or candidate.”

Mrs Cox was Labour MP for Batley and Spen.

She was stabbed and shot outside a constituency surgery in Birstall, West Yorkshire, in 2016.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in