A man who harassed Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy on a Victoria line train has been given a suspended prison sentence and a five-year restraining order.
Clifford Wilby, 63, of east London, was sentenced at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday (8 September). Last month he was found guilty of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress.
The court had previously heard that on 15 July last year, on a train between Walthamstow Central and Finsbury Park, Wilby saw the Labour MP, blocked her from leaving the carriage and began talking to her about knife crime and her "failings as a Member of Parliament". He then filmed her. Other passengers asked him to stop and stepped in between them, and Ms Creasy left the carriage.
The pair had first met on a Zoom call in 2024, which Ms Creasy held in her role as an MP. Prosecutors said the call was ended because of Wilby's behaviour.
In a post on X before the hearing, Ms Creasy said: "Today a man who harassed me is being sentenced in court. He treated me like a human punch bag because he disagreed with my views."
'Being trapped left me feeling powerless'
In a victim personal statement read by the prosecution, Ms Creasy said: "Being in an enclosed underground train carriage with someone who is angry and aggressive brings out every survival instinct. His conduct was not only intimidating on that day but also formed part of a wider pattern of behaviour."
She said she still feels anxious, particularly when travelling alone on the Underground, and now deliberately sits as close to the doors as possible. "Being trapped within a moving train carriage left me feeling powerless," she said.
She also said she had been frightened for the people who stepped in to help her. "I firmly believe it was only because of my constituents' intervention that Mr Wilby was prevented from taking his behaviour further."
Ms Creasy asked the court to "help protect public life by making it clear everyone has the right to say stop, even elected representatives".
Giving evidence at his trial, Wilby said he had hoped to continue a conversation about a constituent. He said Ms Creasy "became quite agitated" and that he pressed record on his phone "for my safety".
During Tuesday's hearing, Wilby repeatedly said "liar" from the dock and was told by the district judge to be quiet.
Tess McCarthy, defending, said Wilby had not followed Ms Creasy or contacted her again after she left the train. She told the court he is homeless and has mental health difficulties.
The sentence
District judge Robert Brown sentenced Wilby to 12 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months. He must complete 10 rehabilitation activity requirement days and pay £100.
Under the five-year restraining order, Wilby must not contact Ms Creasy directly or indirectly, enter Orford Road, E17, post about her on social media or online, or enter the Walthamstow Labour Party constituency office.
The judge told him: "I don't accept for a minute that this was a coincidental meeting, for whatever reason you've had your eye on Stella Creasy for some time and decided to make life difficult for her."
He said such behaviour could put people off public service at a time when "we're looking to encourage people to come forward and serve the public".
