Former Labour MP Claudia Webbe has been sentenced to a 10 week jail term suspended for 2 years and 200 hours of community service after being found guilty of harassing a woman and threatening an acid attack.

Webbe was found guilty of harassing Michelle Merritt, a longtime friend of her ex-partner, Lester Thomas. She had phoned Merritt repeatedly with a series of threats. The court was told that Webbe had called Merritt a "slag", had threatened to "use acid" on her and said that she would distribute naked photographs of Merritt to her family.

The Leicestershire East MP denied these charges continuing to protest her innocence and said that she had been subjected to racist threats and abuse. She said: "I am very disappointed by the decision of the magistrate and want to strongly reiterate that I am innocent. I am lodging an appeal and despite today�s sentence I fully expect the appeal to be granted and that ultimately it will be successful."

She continued: "Throughout this process I have received numerous threats to my life and vile racist abuse. The cowards responsible for these attacks will not deter me from clearing my name. I want to thank constituents, family, friends and my comrades in the Labour movement for their support and solidarity, and to my legal team for their professionalism during this process."

The 56 year old had been a key figure in politics. In 2019, she was one of the most prolific minority ethnic figures in the UK, an aide to Jeremy Corbyn and the chair of Labour's disputes panel.