A man has been jailed for sending the Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch emails threatening to shoot her dead. Ex-teacher Kieran Kyle sent three emails on 2 May to the Tory party leader in which he made racist references and claimed to have been in the IRA, the court heard. The 43-year-old, from Gillingham in Kent, pleaded guilty on 22 September at Westminster Magistrates’ Court to two counts of sending communications of an indecent or offensive nature. Kyle was sentenced to 20 weeks in prison at the same court on Monday.<\/p>\n
In a victim impact statement read to the court, Badenoch and her husband Hamish said the “malicious communications and targeted harassment” not only had an effect on them, but also undermined “a healthy democracy”. In two of the emails, Kyle had made racist references and written: “I’m ex-IRA, so Bloody Sunday references from you are going to give you trouble,” the court heard. The messages were sent on the day Badenoch apologised for footage from Bloody Sunday being mistakenly used in a social media clip to criticise a parliamentary Bill on legacy issues in Northern Ireland. The Tory leader had said she did not sign off the video and that it was sent out by “very young people”.<\/p>\n
The video criticising the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill, posted to her social media channels on 28 April, showed Badenoch saying the Labour legislation would “drag” Troubles veterans back to court. Thirteen unarmed civilians were shot dead when members of the Army’s Parachute Regiment opened fire on civil rights demonstrators in the Bogside area of Londonderry on 30 January 1972, a date that became known as Bloody Sunday. The court heard Kyle had also sent an email to Badenoch’s husband Hamish on 29 April, which used a racist term and said she had a “big mouth” and he should “put a leash on her”. Prosecutor Ben Holt said the North West Essex MP and her husband were left “distressed” and “upset”, particularly by the “racist language and threats of violence used towards them”.<\/p>\n
He added Cheryl Bacon, head of Badenoch’s parliamentary office, said the emails were “disgusting” and “distressing” to read. Baiju Thittala, defending, told the court Kyle “did not know” who Badenoch was at the time of the offences, adding “he only realised later, once he had sent the emails”. Asked by the judge how Kyle, a former secondary school teacher, could not know who Badenoch was, Thittala said: “He just ‘Googled’ it and it came up as the opposition leader.”
\nThe judge said: “The first emails were sent to Mr Badenoch, so I don’t think he did not appreciate who Mrs Badenoch was. “So he clearly knew who Mrs Badenoch was because he researched her husband’s details first.”
\nThe Badenochs said in their victim impact statement: “Our primary concern arising from this offence is not the personal impact on us, but the wider consequences that malicious communications and targeted harassment have on our democratic life.<\/p>\n
“When individuals choose to intimidate, threaten, or aggressively target elected representatives or public figures, the harm extends far beyond any single person. It undermines a healthy democracy.”
\nThe continued: “Public service relies on people being willing to step forward, often at significant personal cost, to represent their communities and contribute to public life. “Increasingly, however, those who do so face hostility, harassment, and attempts to silence or intimidate them.”
\nThe judge also handed Kyle a restraining order, meaning he cannot contact Badenoch, her husband or her parliamentary office for five years. Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, external, on X, external, and on Instagram, external.<\/p>\n
Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk, external or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. Man pleads guilty to racist Badenoch death threats<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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