Man who harassed MP Stella Creasy on Tube avoids jail

Clifford Wilby, 63, has been sentenced for harassing Labour MP Stella Creasy on a Victoria Line train last year. The incident occurred on July 15, 2023, between Walthamstow Central and Finsbury Park stations. Wilby was found guilty of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress.

At Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, Wilby was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months. He was also ordered to complete 10 rehabilitation activity requirement days and pay £100. A five-year restraining order was issued, preventing Wilby from contacting Ms Creasy directly or indirectly. He is also prohibited from entering Orford Road in E17, posting about Ms Creasy online, and entering the Walthamstow Labour Party constituency office.

Court proceedings

Deputy chief magistrate Tan Ikram found Wilby guilty last month. The court heard that Wilby blocked Ms Creasy's ability to leave the Tube carriage, spoke to her about knife crime and her performance as an MP, and then filmed her. Other passengers intervened before Ms Creasy left the carriage. Ms Creasy stated in a post on X that the man treated her 'like a human punch bag because he disagreed with my views'.

In a victim personal statement read to the court, Ms Creasy described feeling 'powerless' when trapped in the moving train carriage. She said his conduct was intimidating and part of a wider pattern of behaviour, leading her to feel anxious when travelling alone on the Underground and to sit near the doors. She expressed concern that Wilby was seeking to provoke a reaction and create a spectacle by filming her, and she was frightened for those who intervened to help.

Ms Creasy asked the court to make it clear that everyone has the right to say stop, even elected representatives. Tess McCarthy, defending, stated that Wilby did not follow Ms Creasy after she left the train and has mental health difficulties. District judge Robert Brown, who imposed the sentence, commented that Wilby's behaviour could deter people from public service.

The court heard that Wilby and Ms Creasy had previously interacted during a Zoom meeting in 2024, which was ended due to Wilby's behaviour. Ms Creasy had given evidence that during the online meeting, he made serious allegations, became abusive, and referred to a diagnosis of psychopathy.