Elizabeth Harker
Sending grossly offensive communications *
Sentence
18-month community order with 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement, 12-month alcohol treatment requirement, and 200 hours unpaid work
On September 5, 2023, Elizabeth Harker, 63, from Luton, Bedfordshire, left four abusive voicemails on a hotline at Angela Rayner's Ashton-under-Lyne constituency office, calling her a 'filthy whore', 'slag', threatening 'you don’t know what is coming to you', and threatening to kill Rayner and her son. The calls were made from a mobile phone registered to Harker's home address while she was under the influence of alcohol. In an unrelated incident on November 2, 2023, Harker was caught on a Ring doorbell posting a handwritten note filled with slurs such as 'scroungers, I reported you' and 'drop dead scrounger' at the Luton home of Dorris Fortune, then running away. The note caused distress and anxiety to Fortune.
Pleaded guilty to sending grossly offensive communications. No previous convictions. Expressed remorse and sought help for long-term alcohol misuse. Judge noted actions were unprovoked, deeply unpleasant, and had significant impact on victims. Aggravated by being under the influence of alcohol.