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Image source, PA
Clifford Wilby, 63, from east London, targeted Stella Creasy on a Victoria line train last July
A 63-year-old man has been found guilty of harassing the Labour MP for Walthamstow after preventing her from leaving a Tube carriage and behaving in an "abusive and aggressive" manner.
Clifford Wilby, from east London, targeted Stella Creasy on a Victoria line train between Walthamstow Central and Finsbury Park on 15 July last year.
Westminster Magistrates' Court heard how Wilby spoke to Creasy about knife crime and her "failings as a Member of Parliament" before filming her, leading to members of the public intervening.
Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram found Wilby guilty of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause harassment, alarm or distress.
Wilby and Creasy first met during a Zoom meeting in 2024 as part of her role as an MP.
She said he started to make a complaint about a constituent and she reminded him that she could not discuss somebody else's case.
Creasy said he had "made a series of very serious allegations", became abusive and "referred to the fact he had been diagnosed as a psychopath".
The meeting was stopped because of Wilby's behaviour.
On 15 July last year, Creasy made eye contact with Wilby on a Victoria line train.
She told the court: "He stood up and blocked my ability to leave the carriage. He began talking to me about his concerns about my constituent. He was shouting, although the Tube train is a loud environment."
She added: "Obviously I was concerned that I was in an enclosed space with him. He was very close.
"I stated very clearly this wasn't an appropriate conversation to be having."
The MP said she was backed against the carriage doors and holding her hands out as a gesture "to say stop".
Passengers stepped in, with one man positioning himself between her and the defendant.
"I was worried that because Mr Wilby was escalating, he could turn his attention and his aggression to the other people on the train trying to protect me," she said.
A woman also told Wilby to stop, saying his behaviour amounted to harassment, and encouraged Creasy to sit next to her.
Creasy left the train at Finsbury Park through a different set of doors after she believed other passengers had distracted him.
Image source, Getty Images
Labour MP for Walthamstow Stella Creasy said she was worried Wilby's behaviour was escalating
Wilby told the court he had hoped to continue their previous conversation about the constituent on the Tube, but claimed Creasy "became quite agitated" and that he was "quite shocked by her reaction".
He said he started recording on his phone "for my safety".
Wilby denied standing in front of Creasy and claimed she spoke to him first. He also denied telling her in 2024 that he had been diagnosed as a psychopath.
Delivering his verdict, Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram referred to footage in which Wilby said: "I don't care about your feelings, your feelings don't matter to me".
He added: "She made her own position very clear. She said that 'I repeatedly asked him to stop, he didn't, he was abusive and aggressive' and it's clear from the defendant's own words he did not care.
"In relation to the conduct of the two members of the public who intervened, the situation must have been such that there was concern for her safety, otherwise they would clearly not have intervened as they did."
Wilby is due to be sentenced on 8 September.
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