A man has been given a community order after calling the office of Tory MP Mike Freer and saying: “I’m coming for you.”
Last month James Phillips, of Brampton Park Road, north London, admitted making the call on January 31, the same day Mr Freer announced on his website that he will stand down at the next general election following a series of death threats and an arson attack on his constituency office.
The 46-year-old appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday to be sentenced for an offensive or menacing telephone call and assaulting a police officer.
District Judge Neeta Minhas made a 14-month community order and imposed a restraining order banning Phillips from contacting Mr Freer directly or indirectly for two years.
The office of Finchley and Golders Green MP Mr Freer received three calls on January 31, two of which were “heavy breathing” and the third which involved the defendant saying: “I’m coming for you, you c***, not just Mike Freer but you as well.”
After Phillips was arrested and taken into custody, he attempted to punch a police officer who was trying to bring him out of a cell for an interview.
