Two men have been charged with sending offensive or menacing messages to Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader.
Greater Manchester police said Stuart Kelly, 53, from Halifax, and Michael McGrath, 71, from Sheffield, were charged with sending an offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing message to a woman in Tameside, Greater Manchester.
Kelly was charged over telephone calls made on 15 October last year to Rayner – the police statement identified her only as female and aged 42. McGrath was charged in connection with an email sent to Rayner on 16 October. Both were bailed ahead of an appearance at Westminster magistrates’ court on 17 March.
Rayner, who is the MP for Ashton-under-Lyne, is a shadow Cabinet Office minister and shadow secretary of state for the future of work.
Last month, Greater Manchester police said they had arrested a 68-year-old man in Brighton as part of the same investigation into alleged abusive messages targeting Rayner. At the time the force said it was the fourth arrest, with one man previously having been charged and given a suspended prison sentence.
A spokesman for Rayner said last month: “We are working with the police to ensure that the perpetrators of these crimes are brought to justice and Angela would like to thank the police for their work during these investigations.
“Abuse and threats of this nature don’t just have an impact on Angela but also on her family, her children and her staff, who are on the receiving end of these communications.”
