I find you intended to maximise Mr Keiths distress.. The day he was found guilty he was wearing a Bermuda shirt and shorts. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, Alex Belfield has been jailed for five and a half years. On Count 5 you were convicted of stalking Mr Bernard Spedding - known professionally as Bernie Keith. A former BBC DJ has been found guilty of waging a relentless stalking campaign against broadcasters and subjecting TV presenter Jeremy Vine to an 'avalanche of hatred.' Alex Belfield was labelled . . Refuses to deny he wrote the email. Living on the edge (literally! I pleaded with him [Belfield] to stop. BBC & RPC lawyers refuse to deny BBC DJ Bernard Spedding / Bernie Keith wrote email. He was found guilty of this offence in relation to two of the complainants - Mr Spedding, who is known as Bernie Keith, and videographer Ben Hewis. He told the jury he was seconds away from killing himself. Read about our approach to external linking. She suffered years of what the judge described as transphobic and hateful comments motivated in part at least by feelings of jealousy as to her success when his own career within the BBC had foundered. 'The counselling didn't work for me - I had never had counselling before and I found it very difficult, very alien.'. Ben Hewis intended to destroy my life, reputation and career. Speaking after the verdicts, Sheryl Monk from the Crown Prosecution Service said: "Stalking is a very serious crime that has a severe impact on its victims. More videos coming soon.. Nobody from the corporation has apologised for what I and the others faced for more than a decade.. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. His planned appeal has now been mentioned in court by the trial judge, at a hearing which related to an error made when Belfield was sentenced. =NYOn:0'tzcD|k1xKx^-58nn-~?Oo>K KJ9OVJN3>:EOLbTk*q2ScG=UrS+0t-qNXZ.3X ;{h0B. Soon she terminated it altogether, after he tweeted something that suggested albeit in veiled terms that Green should be sent to Auschwitz, after his rival presenter fronted a highly praised documentary about the concentration camp. However, he has also been charged with stalking Bernie Keith and videographer Ben Hewis. hb```6Ad`0p She has asked the BBC to commission an independent investigation into what happened. Alex Belfield arriving for his trial at Nottingham Crown Court (Image: PA) An award-winning broadcaster has told a court she was devastated by a "completely transphobic" video posted online by an ex-BBC Radio DJ accused of stalking former colleagues and TV star Jeremy Vine. "The stalking you committed was not the conventional type which is popularised in the press," he said. Prosecutor John McGuinness QC told Nottingham Crown Court that Alex Belfield's lies had a "devastating effect" on Bernie Keith, who presents the mid-morning show on the BBC station . Judges are able to vary sentences under section 385 of the Sentencing Act 2020, but the judge decided not to. Each of them suffered a campaign of harassment by email and social media communications. The judge referred to the victims graphic and distressing evidence in court about the impact of Belfields campaign of harassment, and how he had been just seconds away from dying by suicide. I had gone to the police to make it stop and it was just getting worse. According to GoFundMe, which hosted the appeals, he raised a total of 29,446. If you are watching this, I have been sent to jail, intoned Belfield in his Steve Wright meets Alan Partridge boom, standing in front of a skewwhiff union jack in the living room of his Nottingham home, wearing one of his trademark jazzy shirts. 2023 BBC. In a statement last week, the BBC said: We know this has been very difficult for those involved and we continue to provide support to current and former staff. dragonfly covid testing nyc. The judge made restraining orders in relation to all of the complainants, including those Belfield was not convicted of stalking. READ MORE: The cinemas in Northamptonshire showing the Queen's funeral on Monday for free, Jurors accepted Belfield caused serious alarm or distress to two victims and found him guilty of simple stalking in relation to Channel 5 and BBC Radio 2 presenter Mr Vine and theatre blogger Philip Dehany. Our community guidelines prohibit content that threatens individuals and we have removed several videos for violating these policies.. BBC Radio Northampton presenter Bernie Keith was left feeling suicidal by a 'tsunami of hate', the trial heard. and BBC Radio Northampton's Bernie Keith. The police are advised to consider applying for an order where it appears to them that: Belfield was jailed last September after he was found guilty of waging a relentless stalking campaign against BBC Radio Northampton's Bernie Keith, and subjecting TV presenter Jeremy Vine to an "avalanche of hatred" - but has since lodged an appeal. Similar orders in favour of four other individuals the BBCs former head of the north Rozina Breen, former BBC Radio Leeds presenters Liz Green and Stephanie Hirst, and BBC executive Helen Thomas were also made. last month found guilty at Nottingham Crown Court of waging a relentless campaign, The cinemas in Northamptonshire showing the Queen's funeral on Monday for free, Touching pictures as Northampton pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, Taxi fares in West Northants to increase by nearly one third under council plans to merge fares, Northamptonshire's MPs, councils and clubs pay tribute to The Queen, Wellingborough teenager who killed Dylan Holliday named, Waitrose admits to signing deals blocking rivals from opening near its Daventry store, Prince Philip's personalised Land Rover sells for record price at Silverstone Auctions, The Land Rover Defender was designed specifically for Prince Philip and smashed its guide price of 70,000 when it went under the hammer, More than 140 residents in Northamptonshire village oppose turning shut care home into a hostel, The former care home has been used as a hostel without planning permission since November, WNC said, I tried out Northampton's resurrected iconic coffee shop and I could not stop smiling, I tried out Lawrence's Coffee House on St Giles Street after it finally reopened after seven years and the whole place filled me with delight, "No way" Northampton market will last until Christmas, says former trader after quitting, Joe Fitzpatrick, who quit Northampton Market after 43 years of family trading there, said West Northants Council is "wiping out the DNA of Northampton", Triple murderer Philip Austin will now NOT be moved to an open prison, The Parole Board had said the move should happen but the Lord Chancellor has stepped in, Alan Carr says he's in 'slaggy stage' after divorce during chat with Scissor Sister Jake Shears, The Northampton Chatty Man recently separated from husband Paul Drayton, This Northants manor garden has been named one of the best in the UK to visit this spring, Coton Manor Garden, near Northampton, was named the sixth best wildflower garden in the country to visit now spring is on the way, Paedophile sentenced after missing girl found in his bed, Bradley Coulson, 22, from Northampton, claimed he had just allowed the girl to sleep in his bed, despite sexual messages to her being found on his phone, Ambulance strikes confirmed in Northamptonshire next week as military is called in, Industrial action will take place on Monday and Wednesday, Name 12 Northamptonshire landmarks from their aerial images, We've grabbed together a series of bird's eye shots to test your knowledge of the local area, Rough sleeper numbers in Northamptonshire shoot up in a year, In England, there was a 74% increase since 2010, Peter Bone criticises "bizarre" council proposal where taxi drivers are penalised for not wearing a tie, Mr Bone told Channel 5's Jeremy Vine he found the draft policy, which could see taxi drivers lose their license for not dressing correctly "nonsense", Northampton to host trail with huge 2m Bengal tiger made from 118,00 toy bricks, Some of the most endangered animals in the world will be on show, Two drivers dead following serious A45 crash near Raunds, The A45 was closed for much of yesterday (March 1) following the serious collision between Raunds and Stanwick in which two men have died, North Northamptonshire councillors 'very disappointed' at likely children's trust overspend, The authority expects to spend more than it had hoped in the current financial year for its share of the children's trust, Controversial Wellingborough tree felling developers agree to meet with council, Stanton Cross Developments said they were "keen to have productive discussions with the council" at a meeting this Friday over the felling of trees along London Road. Articles by Alex Belfield on Muck Rack. Bernie confirms on air 'they' think he's "bonkers & loony toons". Would they ever truly be able to escape the man Vine described as an Olympic-level stalker? The final two victims who went to court and testified against Belfield were both from the theatre world. BBC Radio Northampton presenter Bernie Keith was left feeling suicidal by a "tsunami of hate", jurors heard. Belfield rang Mr Dehanys parents home, where he was shielding during lockdown, and recorded the call for his subscribers while speaking to Mr Dehanys mother. 15:33, 16 SEP 2022. Ben Hewis refuses to communicate with Nottingham Police. Alex Belfield was convicted of four charges following a trial at Nottingham Crown Court, Belfield was found guilty of "simple" stalking in relation to BBC presenter Jeremy Vine, Belfield was previously a presenter at BBC Radio Leeds, Belfield made videos throughout his trial and posted them on YouTube. Why would he/they not deny it if he didnt send it? But when Aubrey caught Covid, Vine opted to be questioned by Belfield rather than delay a long-booked holiday, and found himself being asked about the true meaning of the word cunt. This is the Jimmy Savile of trolling., Likening watching Belfields videos to swimming in sewage, Mr Vine said of the defendants conduct: It felt like I had a fish hook in my face and my flesh was being torn, and the only way to avoid further pain was to stay completely still., Jurors convicted Belfield of four charges committed between 2012 and 2021. Belfield currently hosts the Voice of Reason YouTube channel, which has over 372,000 subscribers. The verdicts in relation to each complainant, in the order they appeared on the indictment, were: In mitigation, barrister David Aubrey KC said Belfield had not intended to cause his victims distress, but could now see that he had. Unresolved: Release in which this issue/RFE will be addressed. "Your methods were, however, just as effective as a way of intimidating your victims, and were in many ways much harder to deal with.". He had never gone near anyone, he insisted, and was not accused of threatening any violence. Green blames the BBC for the not-guilty verdicts: The reason I believe the court didnt find him guilty on our charges though we will never know what the jury was thinking was because the BBC allowed it to go on for so long. In relation to Jeremy Vine and theatre blogger Philip Dehany, he was found guilty of two lesser offences of "simple" stalking, which does not require serious alarm or distress to be proved. Radio Presenter Age And Net Worth. endstream endobj 563 0 obj <>/Metadata 36 0 R/Pages 560 0 R/StructTreeRoot 43 0 R/Type/Catalog/ViewerPreferences 579 0 R>> endobj 564 0 obj <>/MediaBox[0 0 595.32 841.92]/Parent 560 0 R/Resources<>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI]>>/Rotate 0/StructParents 0/Tabs/S/Type/Page>> endobj 565 0 obj <>stream 27 febrero, 2023 . Mr Spedding said Belfield's YouTube videos, emails and social media messages had included highly abusive language and a threat to "hound you for the rest of your life". Mr Belfield, on 5 August 2022, following a 5 week trial here at Nottingham Crown Court the jury convicted you on 4 counts. alex belfield wife name. 6 months later the BBC refuse to reveal which BBC person wrote the email. Unless there are broadcast prohibitions attached to his release, there is nothing to stop Belfield firing up Voice of Reason again when he gets out of jail. Belfield, who is 42 and from Nottingham, was originally charged with stalking eight different people, who were mostly current or former BBC staff. Rozina Breen, the corporation's former Head of North, told . Alex Belfield was born in . All prove they have absolutely no understanding of the law. December is a busy month. Green still works for the BBC but is trying to negotiate a settlement to leave. The author identified himself in the screen-grab published by Hewis. It was on that channel that he first broadcast highly partisan court reports from his own trial, later posted to YouTube and still available to view, after persuading the judge that he was a journalist and should be given the same rights as the Nottingham Post. Feb 8. "From his very first email and in the majority of communications thereafter, he used my wife and children as his main weapon to terrify, intimidate and blackmail me," he wrote. Breen sacked him on the spot, but agreed to honour the last two months of his contract. Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? Green was having none of it: I went up to him and I said: You are a grade-A wanker. She stands by that description, but came to regret making an enemy of someone who turned out to be a herculean grudge-holder. All he had done, he suggested, was challenge people who had said things I believed to be untrue. In August Belfield, of Mapperley, was convicted of stalking to cause alarm and distress to BBC Radio Northampton's Bernie Keith, and guilty of the same charge concerning videographer Ben Hewis. Official YouTube stats show that www . Another BBC radio presenter, a transgender woman called Stephanie Hirst, became Belfields next target after refusing him an interview after her transition. You have got these proclamations of hate coming out and that it will never end.'. I couldn't destroy the gift of life that they (his parents) gave me.'. YouTuber Alex Belfield is planning to appeal against his prison sentence for stalking four men online. If that way was via abuse, then that was certainly effective in being part of your story. It could be interpreted as a reluctance to expose systemic failings and a complete failure in duty of care. READ MORE:Jury's verdicts delivered in stalking trial of ex-BBC presenter Alex Belfield. The fact we were left unsupported from the acts of someone regarded as a prolific, now convicted, stalker is problematic. Read about our approach to external linking. He has been contacted 5 times to remove his outrageous claims. Russian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims. He also contacted Hewiss clients to undermine his business and encouraged his followers to join in with the abuse. Despite later coming out as a member of the LGBT community when defending himself against allegations of homophobia in his trial, Belfield attempted to project an image of rampant heterosexuality for much of his life, with frequent references to breasticles and the current or future Mrs Belfield. The TV presenter labelled him the Jimmy Savile of trolling during the trial, which heard he repeatedly posted or sent abusive messages, videos and emails. According to the Institute of Lawfare, lawfare is the misuse and abuse of the law for political, commercial and military ends. Apparently jealous that Keiths BBC career carried on while his own was stymied, Belfield set about trying to ruin Keiths life using his usual weapons of YouTube, Twitter and emails. He hated the thing he loved, or hated other people having success within it.. Within hours, a video appeared on Belfields secret video channel, accessible to anyone willing to pay him a pound a week. It didnt work. One of the complainants was his former colleague, Liz Green, who also presented a show at the radio station. His anti-BBC stance soon attracted prominent support: Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen appeared on his shows and last year wrote to Priti Patel, then home secretary, to complain about what he called a BBC witch-hunt against Belfield, after one of his arrests. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. Sanctimonious, petulant and remorseless, taking elements of fact and twisting them to suit his own purposes while belittling his targets and monetising these distortions, even as he sat in a prison cell. His subscriber count has dropped, but still stands at 354,000. The judge said that while Belfield did not physically approach or watch his victims, the effects were just as damaging. . Why did it take so long to bring him to justice? endstream endobj startxref At conservative gathering, Trump is still the favourite. Judge tells Alex Belfield to expect jail over nine-year 'campaign of harassment' Saying he was proud of how he had managed to keep his troubles from his audience, the radio presenter continued: 'It's come at a huge personal toll. Bernie confirms on air they think hes bonkers & loony toons. VideoRussian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims, The children left behind in Cuba's mass exodus, Xi Jinping's power grab - and why it matters, Snow, Fire and Lights: Photos of the Week. To those who had been monitoring Belfields output for the past few years, it was no surprise that he wanted the final word. While never submitting himself to cross-examination, he was allowed to deliver a pompous closing speech deriding the case as a BBC and police witch-hunt and describing himself as the No 1 anti-BBC journalist. The effect on Keiths life was profound. Unprovoked, anonymous, malicious email published by Ben Hewis Oct 1 2019. We cover what people are talking about every day and celebrate the very best that this incredible part of the world has to offer. In 2006, he presented the breakfast show on Capital Gold in Birmingham for six weeks, before moving to London to take over the station's networked national late show called The Late Night Revolution. Instead of a lawyer, he was often accompanied by James Brandon, a member of the old-school comedy duo the Grumbleweeds. Resolved: Release in which this issue/RFE has been resolved. The women were told: The aim of the review is to provide recommendations to the BBC on how it can best support colleagues facing online stalking or significant social media harassment.. It came following a trial at Nottingham Crown Court, during which the . Mr Justice Saini said Belfield developed a fixation in pursuing Mr Vine with a campaign of abuse, with the broadcaster having to warn his wife and children to watch out for the defendant, especially after his home address was published by his followers. That all stopped in February this year when YouTube suspended monetisation on Belfields Voice of Reason for violating its creator policy, after. Hewis encouraged an entire industry to block me.over lies he endorsed! The fact we were asked to ignore potentially criminal evidence is an issue. A few weeks after he was sent to jail, most of the 7,000-plus videos Belfield posted on YouTube are still publicly accessible. For each of these offences he was sentenced to 13 weeks, also to run consecutively. ). "Alex Belfield had no qualms about the abuse he handed out, in many cases publicly.". Belfield compared his treatment with that of a police officer who had escaped jail despite being convicted of possessing child abuse images. Your email address will not be published. Alex Belfield, 42, . Jeremy Vine arriving at Nottingham Crown Court in July. Alex Belfield is convicted of stalking four people online but cleared of stalking four others. Repeating a libel is not a defense in court. Ex-BBC presenter Alex Belfield's campaign of harassment had left Northampton's Bernie Keith just seconds away from suicide. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. "In some cases this has extended to death threats," he said. The 42-year-old, from Nottingham, is due to be sentenced on 16 September and has been warned he could be jailed. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. 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BBC Radio Northampton presenter Bernie Spedding, who is known as Bernie Keith, and videographer . "Bearing in mind the need for an overall proportionate sentence and the principle of totality, I am not satisfied that my final overall sentence of five years and 26 weeks would have been substantially higher had I been made aware of the correct legal position on count 5 [the charge relating to Bernie Keith].".
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