A 59-year-old man has been sentenced after leaving a racially abusive note taped to the door of his local MP's office and making offensive gestures at the politician's security cameras.
Michael Glover, formerly of St Bride's View, Roch, Pembrokeshire, but now of no fixed abode, had previously pleaded guilty to racially-aggravated harassment and possession of a bladed article in a public place when he appeared for sentencing at Swansea Crown Court.
Racist note and gestures at MP's office
Regan Walters, prosecuting, told the court that on March 10 this year the defendant drove to the Haverfordwest office of Mid and South Pembrokeshire MP Henry Tufnell. After ringing the doorbell, Glover retrieved tape and a plastic bag from his car and taped the bag to the door.
The prosecutor said before driving off, the defendant waved at the building's CCTV cameras, stuck his tongue out, and made "hand gestures" including "raising the middle finger".
Staff at the office subsequently recovered a note from inside the plastic bag addressed to the Labour MP, which said he was "going to jail for a very long time" and that the author had looked around the MP's mother's house and "left some presents". The note finished by saying "F*** you English c*** and Welsh Labour".
The matter was reported to the police, who identified Glover from CCTV footage.
Axe incident at pub
The prosecutor said the defendant was arrested the following day after taking an axe to The William Owen pub in Haverfordwest. Glover was seen with the weapon in a carrier bag in the pub's beer garden, and at one stage was seen to wave the axe around and raise it above his shoulders while talking to another customer.
Staff at the Wetherspoon pub challenged the defendant about the axe, and he at first questioned why he was not allowed to have it before putting it down. Glover went on to spend several hours in the pub without incident before the police were called and he was arrested.
In his subsequent interview, the defendant gave a prepared statement in which he denied harassment. He accepted leaving the note but said he hoped "his Blue Badge would be expedited".
Victim impact and sentencing
In a victim statement read to the court by the prosecution barrister, the MP said the incident had left him feeling concerned for the safety of his family and his office staff and had led to an increased focus on security.
Glover has four previous convictions for five offences between 2015 and 2025. In July last year he was made subject to a 12-month conditional discharge for criminal damage, and in October last year was made subject to a two-year community order for assaulting an emergency worker and criminal damage. The new offences put him in breach of both those sentences, and the defendant accepted that he was also in breach of the community order by failing to attend two appointments.
Joseph Hocquard, for Glover, said the defendant had been held on remand for a few days short of four months, during which time he had lost his rented accommodation and had his car impounded. He said the defendant's mobility issues meant custody had been a particularly challenging time, and a probation report had concluded that his client's mental health issues could only be dealt with in the community. The barrister said if granted his liberty, it was his client's intention to return to Pembrokeshire.
Court's ruling
Recorder Mark Powell KC told the defendant that Members of Parliament are there to advocate for their constituents regardless of disagreements about politics and are entitled to go about their work without being subjected to harassment or threats. He said he regarded Glover's offending against the MP as a serious matter.
The Recorder said he had read about Glover's significant mental health issues, and how it seemed that the defendant's frustration about the handling of his Blue Badge application had led to a deterioration in his mental state and then to the offending before the court.
With a one-third discount for his guilty pleas, Glover was sentenced to six months in prison suspended for 12 months, and was ordered to abide by a probation requirement. For breaching the community order, the defendant was sentenced to two months in prison likewise suspended and to run concurrently, and for breaching the conditional discharge he was fined £5.
Glover was also made subject to a five-year restraining order banning him from contacting the MP. Recorder Powell told the defendant he hoped he would accept the help the Probation Service was offering him and "make the most of the chance the court has given you".
