Man who harassed MP Henry Tufnell and took axe to pub gets suspended sentence

A man who harassed Labour MP Henry Tufnell for being English and carried an axe to a pub has been given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and a five-year restraining order.

Michael Glover, 59, left a signed letter at Tufnell’s constituency office in Haverfordwest on 10 March. It said he had looked around the MP’s family home and left “some presents”. The following day, Glover took an axe in a plastic bag to a local pub and picked it up in front of a member of the public, Swansea Crown Court heard.

Glover pleaded guilty to both charges at magistrates’ court. The court heard he had been frustrated by a delay in his application for a blue badge and had complex mental health difficulties.

Tufnell said the letter had made him uneasy because Glover claimed to know where he lived with his wife and newborn child. In a victim personal statement, he said he had reconsidered the security of his home and felt on edge when working away, wondering whether his family was safe.

Judge Mark Powell KC said MPs should be able to represent constituents without threats or harassment, “regardless of whether they are English or not English”. He said brandishing an axe in public would have been frightening, but that Glover had not intended to harm anyone. The judge said frustration and a deterioration in Glover’s mental state had led to the offences, and that he had shown remorse.

Glover had been in custody for four months for breaching a probation order, his barrister Joseph Hocquard told the court. He said custody had been particularly challenging because of Glover’s mental health and disabilities.

As well as the suspended sentence and restraining order, Glover was ordered to pay a £154 victim surcharge.