A journalist accused of stalking former chancellor George Osborne and his wife Thea Rogers for more than a year has appeared in court to deny the charge.
Lydia Suffield, 27, is said to have sent emails and Instagram messages to the couple and to have filed “false referrals” to children’s charity the NSPCC.
It is alleged her activities caused “serious alarm or distress” to Mr Osborne and Ms Rogers, in an alleged stalking campaign between June 8 2022 and July 5 last year.
Suffield, a freelance journalist who has written for The Telegraph and The Times, appeared in the dock at Westminster magistrates court on Monday, indicating a not guilty plea to the charges.
Prosecutor Rhianne Neil said Suffield is accused of contacting close friends and family of the couple as well as work colleagues, and making allegations including drug abuse.
It is said she also sent them a present allegedly intended for their young children.
Mr Osborne, a former editor of the Evening Standard, paid for extra security for his July 2023 wedding to Ms Rogers in the town of Bruton in Somerset.
Suffield, wearing a bright red shirt and black suit trousers, spoke during her court hearing to confirm her name, age, address in Booker Avenue, Liverpool, and her intention to plead not guilty to two counts of stalking involving serious alarm or distress.
District Judge Annabel Pilling sent the case to Isleworth crown court, with a plea and trial preparation hearing set for January 6.
Suffield will be on bail ahead of the next court hearing.
