A Salford MP was left fearing for her safety after she received a series of threatening emails from a bomb hoaxer.
On Friday, a court heard how the culprit claimed he would target a town hall after accusing Andy Burnham of “protecting paedophiles” and sent threats to professionals including two MPs.
Anthony McGrath, 57, posted on social media site X in November last year threatening to bomb Greater Manchester Police headquarters unless they returned property belonging to him, Liverpool Crown Court heard on Friday.
He claimed the bombs would arrive from Russia and added: “Stop protecting #paedophiles @AndyBurnhamGM because the town hall will also be removed.”
In January and February 2024 he sent a series of threatening emails to professionals, including Salford MP Rebecca Long-Bailey and Sir Robert Buckland, who at the time was MP for South Swindon, as well as a judge, solicitor, chartered surveyor and Nat West bank.
McGrath, of Sale, Greater Manchester, was given a community order after the court heard he was suffering with his mental health at the time and had been sectioned following his arrest.
Martyn Walsh, prosecuting, said in one email sent to Ms Long-Bailey, McGrath said: “You all messed with the wrong person. My army is much bigger considering I have Russian and Chinese support. We will be armed and shoot to kill.”
In another message, he told the Labour MP “you are a target” and gave a time when her office would explode.
Mr Walsh told the court: “Ms Long-Bailey said the incident ‘made me feel worried about the safety of my staff and myself’.”
McGrath sent an email with the subject “car bomb” to Sir Robert, who served as a minister in Conservative governments, and gave a time when he said the politician’s house would “explode”.
In an email to district judge Jacqueline White he said: “We have every judge’s home address and we also have packs of lions.”
He emailed Laurie Burnley-Myers, part of the Jewish Representative Council for Greater Manchester, alleging there was a “bomb alert from the IRA”, the court heard.
Lucy Moran, defending, said: “It is my submission that there is no real risk of this happening again. He is now looked after, medicated and in remission for his conditions.”
Sentencing, Judge Gary Woodhall said: “These offences all occurred, on the information before me, when you were suffering with a mental health relapse. If that wasn’t the case, the sentence in this case would have been entirely different.”
He ordered McGrath to carry out a 10-day rehabilitation activity requirement and complete a 12-month mental health treatment requirement as part of his 15-month community order.
McGrath pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to one count of sending a communication threatening death or serious harm and 12 counts of sending by public communications network an offensive/indecent/obscene/menacing message.
He was also made subject to restraining orders preventing him from communicating with the people he had sent emails to for seven years.
By Eleanor Barlow, Press Association
