A Jeremy Corbyn supporter who sent threatening and antisemitic abuse to Labour MPs has been spared jail.

Nicholas Nelson, 31, admitted to three charges of sending communications of an offensive nature between July and September 2018.

The indictment related to phone calls and emails sent to Dame Margaret Hodge and Dame Louise Ellman – both of whom are Jewish.

Nelson also sent abuse to Lord John Mann, the former MP for Bassetlaw in Nottinghamshire, who now serves as an antisemitism tsar.

Lord Mann has long campaigned against antisemitism but is not Jewish.

In 2018, Nelson was sentenced to 20 weeks in jail – suspended for a year – for harassing Jewish MPs Luciana Berger and Ruth Smeeth. Neither are still in parliament.

At Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram sentenced Nelson to 30 weeks in jail – suspended for 18 months.

The magistrate said: “I’m of the view that these offences are so serious that they cross the custody threshold.

“People should feel able to come forward and serve as MPs without fear of violence and threat. Certain communities have felt particularly under threat.

“And these courts will send a clear message to those who threaten members of those communities, who attack them because of their faith.”

Mr Ikram said that if all the convictions were being sentenced at once, he would have sent Nelson straight into custody.

But he said: “I have considered carefully whether I can suspend the sentences and I felt just about able to do so.

“That doesn’t take away the seriousness of the offences.

“That simply reflects we are now two years down the road, that there have been no further offences and that I see you are now seeking the assistance of a psychiatrist and dealing with issues you say were a feature of your life then.”

Prosecutor Jason Seetal said the offence against Dame Margaret, who is Jewish, was “religiously aggravated” – highlighting a July 18 2018 phone call to her office.

Nelson said: “Margaret should f*** off, you f****** racist Zionist c***. You need to get out of the party and I hope you die, you Tory c***.”

In a phone call the same day, Nelson added: “Margaret Hodge is an apartheid-supporting disgusting scumbag bitch.”

Dame Margaret said in a victim impact statement: “I considered the emails to be threatening and was left feeling nervous and unsure about my personal safety.

“For the first time, I now feel under threat because of my Jewish identity.”

The court heard Dame Louise’s parliamentary assistant say she felt “extremely uncomfortable and distressed” after reading an email sent by Nelson.

“Louise Ellman is a hypocritical Tory c*** who is so thick she is trying to smear Corbyn with an event she herself attended,” it said.

Lord Mann received an abusive phone message, played in court, in September 2018 which said: “Kill yourself. When are you going to have a stroke?”

Sentencing Nelson, Mr Ikram declined to repeat the words used, saying: “They are the most vulgar, obscene, threatening vocabulary I can think of.”

He added: “I took a very serious view in December 2018. I did so then and I do so now because there has been a significant increase in threats made to MPs – threats of violence, threats based on their faith and on race.

“It’s something I have not encountered previously, but over the last couple of years this has become commonplace.”

Julian Young, defending Nelson, who was supported by his parents in court, said: “He’s ashamed of his conduct.”

He read a letter from Nelson, which said: “I want to offer a full apology to Louise Ellman, Margaret Hodge and John Mann for the harm caused by my conduct.”

Nelson, of North Walsham in Norfolk, was sentenced to a 30-day rehabilitation order, 240 hours of unpaid work and told to pay a total of £200 in victim surcharge and costs.

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