Claudia Webbe: Labour MP charged with harassment

Leicester East MP will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in November

(House of Commons Library)

Labour MP Claudia Webbe has insisted she is “innocent of any wrongdoing” after the Crown Prosecution Service announced she has been charged with an offence of harassment.

The representative for Leicester East, who was elected at the 2019 December general election, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 11 November.

It is understood that she has been suspended from the Labour Party, and from the party whip in the House of Commons, pending the outcome of the case.

In a statement, Jenny Hopkins of the CPS, 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."

The CPS said Ms Webb, 55, faces once count of harassment between 1 September 2018 and 26 April 2020.

Responding to the decision, the Labour MP said: “I am innocent of any wrongdoing and look forward to proving this in court. I will be vigorously defending myself against these claims.”

Ms Webbe, formerly an Islington councillor and member of Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC), became an MP just last year after the long-standing MP Keith Vaz resigned his seat at the winter election.

She won 50.8 per cent of the vote share in December, but Labour’s considerable majority in the constituency was slashed from over 22,000 in 2017 to just 6,000 votes last year.

Ms Webbe also unsuccessfully ran to be Labour’s candidate in the Lewisham East by-election in 2018 and prior to that was a policy adviser to the former mayor of London, Ken Livingstone.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: "It would not be appropriate to comment on an ongoing case."