A man has been cleared of harassing Sir Ed Davey and his wife after turning up at their family home twice. Inigo Rowland, 58, was found not guilty of harassing Lady Emily Davey without violence between June and October this year.
Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court heard that Rowland visited the Davey family home in the summer and again in September. During the second encounter, he was told by Lady Davey and their son's carers to leave, but he claimed he left of his own accord.
District Judge Sushil Kumar said Rowland was an “annoyance” during the first visit and it would have been “readily apparent” his presence was “unwelcome” during the second. However, the judge ruled the behaviour did not meet the criminal standard for harassment, stating it was not “unacceptable and oppressive”.
Rowland denied speaking to Lady Davey on her driveway on one occasion, saying it was “impossible” as he is “never up at 10 o'clock on a Saturday morning”. He admitted going to the house in September after being told by the MP’s constituency office to email for an appointment, but denied being angry.
Sir Ed and Lady Davey’s son, who has severe disabilities, was 17 at the time and their daughter was 11. Both children lived at the house. Rowland previously admitted possession of a flick knife in Kingston on 6 October and will be sentenced on 8 December. A charge of stalking Lady Davey was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service.
A spokesperson for the Liberal Democrat leader said: “Ed won't be offering any further comment at this time.”
