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Labour MP Claudia Webbe charged with harassment

Claudia Webbe
Claudia Webbe

Claudia Webbe, the Labour MP for Leicester East, has been charged with harassment, the Crown Prosecution Service has announced.

Ms Webbe, who was elected in the 2019 election, is accused of carrying out the harassment between 1 September 2018 and 26 April this year.

She is accused of harassing "one female", the CPS said.

On Monday Ms Webbe said she is “innocent of any wrongdoing” and that she will “vigorously” defend herself in court.

Jenny Hopkins, head of the CPS's Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said: "The CPS has today decided that Claudia Webbe, MP for Leicester East, should be charged with an offence of harassment against one female.

"The CPS made the decision after receiving a file of evidence from the Metropolitan Police.

"Criminal proceedings against Ms Webbe are now active and she has the right to a fair trial. It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings."

Ms Webbe will appear in court on November 11.

Ms Webbe is on the left of the party and has been a vocal supporter of former leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Before Leicester, she was a councillor in Islington, north London, between 2010 and 2018 and was a member of Labour's ruling National Executive Committee.

Earlier in her career, she was a political adviser to then-London mayor Ken Livingstone.