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Belfield became known across theatres as someone who would throw a tantrum if he didnt get the press tickets he wanted. News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? YouTuber Alex Belfield is planning to appeal against his prison sentence for stalking four men online. Resolved: Release in which this issue/RFE has been resolved. Both question why the corporation only really took the abuse seriously once a well-known man Vine was involved. Then, during a broadcast at Leeds Playhouse, he asked an elderly lady what colour knickers she was wearing, resulting in the theatre boycotting the station. I pleaded with him [Belfield] to stop. Mr Justice Saini had sentenced Belfield to two-and-a-half years for stalking one of the complainants, Bernie Keith. Refuses to deny he wrote the email. All prove they have absolutely no understanding of the law. The judge made restraining orders in relation to all of the complainants, including those Belfield was not convicted of stalking. Alex Belfield is convicted of stalking four people online but cleared of stalking four others. His aim was, in his own words, to haunt his victims, and he deployed his army of followers to pile on with abusive messages to those targeted, said Mr Justice Saini. Others were their boss, Rozina Breen, and Ms Breen's boss Helen Thomas. Alex Belfield was labelled 'the Jimmy Savile of trolling' during the trial, Subscribe today to get the latest Northants headlines straight to your inbox with our free email updates. I AM A VICTIM OF A CRIME. Alex Belfield, 42, . "Your methods were, however, just as effective as a way of intimidating your victims, and were in many ways much harder to deal with.". The women were told: The aim of the review is to provide recommendations to the BBC on how it can best support colleagues facing online stalking or significant social media harassment.. Giving evidence in court, Vine said: I have in the past had a physical stalker who followed me. Here's Celebrity Radio's BBC Bernie Keith & Ben Hewis STATEMENTFull statement on legal action & police inquiry - BBC Bernie Keith / Bernard Spedding & Ben Hewis. As well as jailing Belfield, Mr Justice Saini issued indefinite restraining orders banning the DJ from contacting his victims. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. Prosecutors allege that Belfield, 42, caused serious alarm or distress to Vine, former BBC Radio Leeds mid-morning show host Stephanie Hirst, and BBC Radio Northampton's Bernie Keith. I pleaded with him (Belfield) to stop. endstream endobj 563 0 obj <>/Metadata 36 0 R/Pages 560 0 R/StructTreeRoot 43 0 R/Type/Catalog/ViewerPreferences 579 0 R>> endobj 564 0 obj <>/MediaBox[0 0 595.32 841.92]/Parent 560 0 R/Resources<>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI]>>/Rotate 0/StructParents 0/Tabs/S/Type/Page>> endobj 565 0 obj <>stream "This was the darkest point of my life because there was no end to it. Rozina Breen, the corporation's former Head of North, told . Our fears and anxiety were downplayed. Helen Thomas, now director of BBC England, told the jury that she was told to man up by a BBC boss when she complained about Belfields behaviour. Belfield, 42, who weaponised the internet, was last month found guilty at Nottingham Crown Court of waging a relentless campaign, where Mr Vine said he was subjected to an avalanche of hatred. Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Alex Belfield is a 42-year-old former BBC radio star and vlogger who hails from Nottinghamshire. A "cruel" former BBC local radio presenter has been jailed for five years and 26 weeks for stalking broadcasters including Jeremy Vine. Fans, largely older women, were often in the public gallery to show support. 18:16, 4 JAN 2023. What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? Belfields final BBC target was Vine, who made the mistake of responding after learning that Belfield had called him and fellow broadcaster Victoria Derbyshire cunts online. In relation to Jeremy Vine and theatre blogger Philip Dehany, Belfield was found guilty of two lesser offences of "simple" stalking, which does not require serious alarm or distress to be proved. The effect on Keiths life was profound. Your email address will not be published. Belfield was given a total of five years and 26 weeks in prison, of which he will serve half, on all four charges he was convicted of. BBC Radio Northampton DJ Bernie Keith told the court he was left feeling suicidal by a tsunami of hate. I couldn't destroy the gift of life that they (his parents) gave me.'. With an international audience via YouTube - Celebrity Radio continues to grow. READ MORE:Jury's verdicts delivered in stalking trial of ex-BBC presenter Alex Belfield. He and Belfield had known each other through work, the trial heard, but Belfield had never met the other three men he was convicted of stalking. He presents a YouTube channel called Voice of Reason, which has over 361,000 subscribers. BBC & RPC lawyers refuse to deny BBC DJ Bernard Spedding / Bernie Keith wrote email. In 2006, he presented the breakfast show on Capital Gold in Birmingham for six weeks, before moving to London to take over the station's networked national late show called The Late Night Revolution. The Court of Appeal has confirmed Belfield has made an application for permission to appeal his sentence, but said this is "still in the very early stages of the process". First Belfield bawled out the stations beloved gardening correspondent for a perceived act of insubordination, prompting a surge of listener complaints. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. The full wording of the charges stated that he "pursued a course of conduct that amounted to harassment" of the complainants, which "amounted to stalking" and caused them "serious alarm or distress". hbbd```b``"H %&jv`8Z`` Hy |AAg%@ !CI Russian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims. "There's a good chance of a custodial sentence," he added. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. . During the trial at Nottingham Crown Court, Judge, Mr Justice Saini spoke of how BBC Radio Northampton presenter Bernie Keith was "seconds away" from killing himself after suffering from tsunami of hate. According to GoFundMe, which hosted the appeals, he raised a total of 29,446. Collaborations. A few weeks after he was sent to jail, most of the 7,000-plus videos Belfield posted on YouTube are still publicly accessible. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. while Mr Keith said the . And what did he mean by: We will be back? Why Alex Murdaugh was spared the death penalty, Why Trudeau is facing calls for a public inquiry, The shocking legacy of the Dutch 'Hunger Winter'. ). . Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk. Judge tells Alex Belfield to expect jail over nine-year 'campaign of harassment' The optics arent good, says Breen. Nobody from the corporation has apologised for what I and the others faced for more than a decade.. BBC Radio Leeds presenter Liz Green, who was harassed for 10 years by Belfield. Alex Belfield, who now runs a YouTube channel, stalked his victims by harassing them online. Required fields are marked *. "Alex Belfield had no qualms about the abuse he handed out, in many cases publicly.". hen Alex Belfield was sent to prison for five and a half years last month for online stalking, his accusers cried with relief. Stephanie Hirst presented a show at the station after he left, in the same time slot. Stayed tuned - Alex Murdaugh's sordid tale is just getting started, Alex Murdaugh's head is shaved as he is booked into South Carolina prison fortress for weeks of evaluation before being sent to a maximum security facility housing the 'worst of the worst', At least 10 dead as wild storms lash the U.S: Tornadoes and golf ball-sized hail topples trucks and leaves one million without power in Kentucky, Alabama and Arkansas - after dumping 17 feet of snow in California, Massive gas tanker crashes in Maryland and EXPLODES into fireball killing the driver and setting local residents' homes ablaze as large plumes of black smoke and embers billow from crash site, 'I want to be a French child!' Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. I can tell you now their proposed review will not claim responsibility nor say sorry. alex belfield wife name. Alex performed 56 shows in 2012, 48 shows in 2013, 52 shows in 2014 & 54 shows in 2015.. With up to 3 or 4 shows a day - this years mammoth tour was his biggest production yet! "He said he could see their distress in court and feels deeply sorry for what he did.". Each of them suffered serious mental health problems arising from Mr Belfields conduct, he said, imposing indefinite restraining orders preventing Belfield from contacting the women. Then began a 10-year campaign of harassment against both Breen and Green, as well as Helen Thomas, Breens line manager, who was head of regional and local programming for Yorkshire. Instantly disprovable lies published by Ben Hewis. Finally, respite from what for some had been a decade of near-constant abuse. Some feel he was given too much power in his own trial. BBC Radio Northampton presenter Bernie Keith told the court he was left feeling suicidal by what he called Belfield's "tsunami of hate." Belfield's contract with BBC Radio Leeds ended in 2011. "The Crown makes no submission that the overall sentence was, given the new knowledge of the legal position, inappropriate or unduly lenient," said Mr Justice Saini at Leicester Crown Court. hWmo8+}(fI0He&[%@bwYsun!-Q$m>|(c #*fD((B+AH"9hn@*bJM (XDpn+X [EhA8b0BCJ ]JAD*# vb7kG;?+z]VlMow&k]dY\?2z?|Hzm|umLpM'lU),>9S*sD0xXl&[QdyLUvf% 5nLMY/]B~KJJeLPNAbK Clv/?`x8CG]* WAbZa\kC89ZCR7F-EdOzdoEey1*|z`L8}`! i_}Y/z*}Z4V0j_Zn(XP @C!|D@F;= 4`EwsivT! Belfield, a former BBC radio presenter turned YouTube free speech advocate, was deeply sorry for the hurt he had caused, said Aubrey, after Belfield was convicted of stalking Vine and three other men online. The judge said he agreed with some of the witnesses in the case, who said Belfield had "weaponised the internet". Aaron Sidwell was smart enough to retract his comments immediately: Phillip Dehany refuses to delete his post/vlog repeating the lies and endorsing Hewis. One of the alleged victims - TV and radio presenter Jeremy Vine (pictured arriving at Nottingham Crown Court) - told the trial last week that 42-year-old Belfield is 'the Jimmy Savile of trolling'. Video, Russian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims, US-made cheese can be called 'gruyere' - court, AOC under investigation for Met Gala dress, The children left behind in Cuba's exodus, Alex Murdaugh's legal troubles are far from over, Saving Private Ryan actor Tom Sizemore dies at 61, Walkie Talkie architect Rafael Violy dies aged 78, Sonic boom heard as RAF Typhoon jets escort plane, Nelson's 97th-minute stunner gives Arsenal victory. BBC Radio Northampton presenter Bernie Spedding, who is known as Bernie Keith, and videographer . Repeating a libel is not a defense in court. It came following a trial at Nottingham Crown Court, during which the . For other inquiries, Contact Us. One of the complainants was his former colleague, Liz Green, who also presented a show at the radio station. Ben Hewis is a videographer who works in the theatre and wedding industries and Philip Dehany was a rival theatre blogger. is an English professional association football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.The club was formed in the late 1870s and in 1884 they took the name Burslem Port Vale, dropping the 'Burslem' prefix in 1907. Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? 'I can't remember when I have had a run of good sleep of longer than five hours. 'You can't work out how it's happened. Four women, past and previous BBC DJs and executives, had also accused Belfield of stalking them via email and social media, but the jury found him not guilty on those charges. Ben Hewis refuses to communicate with Nottingham Police. Alex Belfield was convicted of four charges following a trial at Nottingham Crown Court, Belfield was found guilty of "simple" stalking in relation to BBC presenter Jeremy Vine, Belfield was previously a presenter at BBC Radio Leeds, Belfield made videos throughout his trial and posted them on YouTube. Both had come to the defence of others under attack by Belfield. The day he was found guilty he was wearing a Bermuda shirt and shorts. We were the learning curve for Belfield. Read about our approach to external linking. 'My initial reaction (to the alleged stalking) was ''He's gone mad'',' Mr Keith said. Start the ball rolling by posting a comment on this article! I dont think that stuff even bothered him.. The judge referred to the victims graphic and distressing evidence in court about the impact of Belfields campaign of harassment, and how he had been just seconds away from dying by suicide. xRn0+|L)%^RKXoZi;;0AQnKF. . Belfield was also convicted of the simple stalking of theatre blogger Philip Dehany, who suffered a vicious campaign of abuse. He soon made it to the top of Belfields hitlist, featuring regularly as a hate figure in his videos and social media posts. Breen says she and others flagged Belfields behaviour repeatedly but were told just not to look at the emails, or to delete them. Sanctimonious, petulant and remorseless, taking elements of fact and twisting them to suit his own purposes while belittling his targets and monetising these distortions, even as he sat in a prison cell. Count 5: BBC Radio Northampton's Bernie Keith, guilty of stalking to cause alarm and distress - Belfield has been given two-and-half years in prison on count 5; Prosecutors claimed Belfield subjected Vine to a relentless online campaign that included a wave of personal and unpleasant attacks on YouTube,TwitterandFacebookover an 11-month period. Worse, in 2013, a few years into Belfields campaign against her and Breen, the BBCs HR team chose to launch an investigation not into their harassment, but into whether they were guilty of bullying Belfield. "Stalking is a crime. 918-707-5636 ohniyou ceiling fan manual. His last company, Champagne Sippers, incorporated in December 2020, has never filed company accounts. The application is being followed-up in its original format, including victims from his trial, and with two more people added - who were not involved in his trial. FORMER BBC radio presenter, Alex Belfield, has been jailed for five and a half years. . He also contacted Hewiss clients to undermine his business and encouraged his followers to join in with the abuse. Hewis tweet and email vindictively intended to destroy my career and reputation. In October 2020, Belfield spread a false rumour that he was having an affair with a fellow BBC radio presenter, using it as part of his ongoing campaign against the national broadcaster. Dehany ended up the subject of numerous YouTube broadcasts where Belfield suggested he was mentally ill, and called him a mincer and a little twirly with an incredibly tiny man sausage. The fact we were asked to ignore potentially criminal evidence is an issue. All Rights Reserved. BBC Radio Northampton presenter Bernie Keith was left feeling suicidal by a "tsunami of hate", the trial heard. I am offensive My human right allows me to speak words that are not to everyones taste, he told the jury. VideoRussian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims, The children left behind in Cuba's mass exodus, Xi Jinping's power grab - and why it matters, Snow, Fire and Lights: Photos of the Week. The judge described Mr Dehanys mother as robust for the way she dealt calmly with Belfield, telling her: Everybody needs a mother like you. Mr Justice Saini said: It was an outrageous and cruel act to call her and make a recording, which Belfield later used as content on his channel. I accept the evidence that Mr Belfield effectively followed these women by online harassment throughout their careers, said the judge. Russian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims. 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"You made this highly successful and confident radio presenter lose all joy in life and turned him into a shell.". We were the warm-up act.. For the BBC to protect the liar who did this is unthinkable in 2020. His voice breaking with emotion, Mr Keith added: 'That removes the hope from my life that I will ever be free of this man. Alex Belfield: Bernie Keith BBC Radio Northampton, 14 March 2020 (25 mins) Is Alex Belfield a victim of lawfare? How many people signed up for 1 a week is unclear, though some live streams attracted barely 300 viewers. A former BBC radio presenter found guilty of stalking four people including broadcaster Jeremy Vine has been jailed for five and a half years. "Bearing in mind the need for an overall proportionate sentence and the principle of totality, I am not satisfied that my final overall sentence of five years and 26 weeks would have been substantially higher had I been made aware of the correct legal position on count 5 [the charge relating to Bernie Keith].". Sentencing Belfield, the judge said he had made this highly successful and confident radio presenter lose all joy in life and turned him into a shell He was terrified of you. So scared was Keith that he gave neighbours a copy of Belfields photograph, in case he decided to take his campaign of harassment offline.