"We want an independent inquiry to look at what the BBC did or didn't do for this group of really excellent employees," he said. 3. Mr Bridgen said: There are serious questions that need to be asked about both the BBC and the police in this case. he said. He later described his time at Radio Leeds as "the worst year of my life". We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Mr Belfield is accused of stalking by sending emails, making YouTube videos and posting . May Bank Holiday supermarket opening times for Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Tesco and more, Leeds United considering major decision in Nottingham Forest relegation fight. Alex Belfield - The Voice Of Reason Live Yesterday at 10:56 AM Day 13 Court Report R v Alex Belfield BBC Northampton DJ Berna . The former BBC radio presenter was jailed for five-and-a-half years after being convicted. "He thought of the most evil, awful person in media history and compared me to him. The police are advised to consider applying for an order where it appears to them that: Belfield was jailed last September after he was found guilty of waging a relentless stalking campaign against BBC Radio Northampton's Bernie Keith, and subjecting TV presenter Jeremy Vine to an "avalanche of hatred" - but has since lodged an appeal. Did this woman die because her genitals were cut? "Alex Belfield: Former BBC presenter denies stalking charges", "Alex Belfield latest: who is the Voice of Reason YouTuber and what he said on Twitter about the BBC and arrests", "Former Mansfield 103.2 presenter Alex Belfield summonsed to court on stalking allegations", "Ex-BBC DJ guilty of stalking Jeremy Vine and other former colleagues", "Alex Belfield summonsed in relation to stalking offence", "Sexist Alex Belfield videos still on YouTube despite prison sentence", "Ex-BBC Radio Leeds DJ Alex Belfield jailed for stalking Jeremy Vine and others", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alex_Belfield&oldid=1148461422, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 6 April 2023, at 08:54. VideoThe secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, LGBT troops take love for Eurovision to front line, Why an Indian comedian is challenging fake news rules. [1], Belfield was convicted in September 2022 for four of eight stalking charges at Nottingham Crown Court. Speaking from his home, he said: "This is a miscarriage of justice. Judges are able to vary sentences under section 385 of the Sentencing Act 2020, but the judge decided not to. Alex Belfield is alleged to have repeatedly harassed the victims, including via email and through his YouTube channel and Twitter account. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk. It's never rains . Thomas Watkinson, 60, was arrested in 2019 after a number of historic allegations were made against him. Later she referred to it in her evidence as, "a hurtful parody" and "parodying me", "transphobic", and "hurtful at the same time". [3] He worked at Mansfield 103.2 FM in the early 2000s. See more of Alex Belfield - The Voice Of Reason Live on Facebook. "Finally, I would like to pay tribute to the victims in this case who have shown enormous courage and dignity in coming forward to give evidence in public. Belfield went on to create his own online show called "The Voice of Reason" on YouTube to promote his anti-establishment ideology. But do you remember, it wasn't to do with me?" One of the complainants, Liz Green, was a fellow presenter there. Over the four week trial, the court heard how the former presenter was set about undermining the career of a former colleague with hurtful and untrue comments Belfield directed via email, social media and via his YouTube channel, following a series of workplace disputes. "He now has developed the insight that he didn't have before," Mr Aubrey said. Something went wrong, please try again later. He denied all charges and was released on conditional bail. Stay at this 4-star boutique hotel in Grenoble. The respondent has carried out acts associated with stalking; The respondent poses a risk of stalking to a person; and, There is reasonable cause to believe the proposed order is necessary to protect the other person from that risk. ", Cars getting scraped as bins put out in middle of street, Dad heartbroken as son returns home with tally of bullying on his hands, Evangelos Marinakis criticised as Nottingham Forest owner 'has not helped' Steve Cooper, Carvery defends move to not offer kids meals to 'elderly' customers, Council steps in to save 36m housing scheme as Notts company ceases trading. He said he had been raising issues on air, in his role as a journalist, "for the right reasons". Although jurors found Belfield not guilty of stalking Liz Green, Rozina Breen, Helen Thomas and Stephanie Hirst, Mr Justice Saini said Belfield had harassed them, and he made restraining orders to protect them in future. He said his broadcast equipment was seized by police officers, which he believed was done in an attempt to "silence" him. "The prosecution say that what Mr Belfield did went beyond any reasonable exercise of free speech rights.". "You made this highly successful and confident radio presenter lose all joy in life and turned him into a shell.". Read about our approach to external linking. However, he said it "all went wrong" when he went to work at BBC Radio Leeds. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk. He appeared at the Crown Court on 4 November for a case management hearing and stood trial on 4 July 2022. In relation to Ms Green there were hundreds of emails. "You were not a whistleblower in any sense but developed a fixation with pursuing Mr Vine with a campaign of abuse," the judge said. Read about our approach to external linking. "He had to ask his family to watch out for you and to take care in and around their home address.". Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. The former BBC radio presenter was jailed for five-and-a-half years after being convicted in September. Mr Belfield, who is defending himself decided not to give evidence, but he addressed the jury during his closing speech. "From his very first email and in the majority of communications thereafter, he used my wife and children as his main weapon to terrify, intimidate and blackmail me," he wrote. However, Mr Belfield told jurors he had resigned "because they didn't want to give me more money, which is fine". We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. The issue has been raised in a letter to Home Secretary Priti Patel by North West Leicestershire MP Andrew Bridgen who is concerned that Mr Belfield is a victim of attempts to silence him and curtail his free speech. He was found guilty of this offence in relation to two of the complainants - Mr Spedding, who is known as Bernie Keith, and videographer Ben Hewis. Man dies in serious crash that closed road for hours, Almost 1,000 damage caused to car in eight months on town centre road, "There are always cars parked without permits which leads to a severe lack of parking and an extremely busy street". The judge made restraining orders on the four victims: Bernard Spedding (also known as Bernie Keith), Ben Hewis, Philip Dehany and Jeremy Vine. The judge said he agreed with some of the witnesses in the case, who said Belfield had "weaponised the internet". He said since leaving the BBC he had written articles for national newspapers about money being wasted by the organisation, and claimed he had "bought my house" with the money he earned doing this. In the Lyon and Grenoble metropolitan areas, and the Haute-Savoie department, INRAE units contribute to research activities at the Lyon-Saint-Etienne, Grenoble-Alpes, and Savoie Mont Blanc . The court heard the original application was amended to add two more people who did not form part of the criminal trial. Bernard Spedding - guilty (majority verdict), Philip Dehany - not guilty to the charge on the indictment but guilty of the alternative charge of "simple" stalking (majority verdict), Jeremy Vine - not guilty to the charge on the indictment but guilty of the alternative charge of "simple" stalking (unanimous verdict). Explore in 3D: The dazzling crown that makes a king. I sincerely hope that Belfield learns from this experience and refrains from ever acting in this way again. Read about our approach to external linking. Mr Belfield's former boss at BBC Radio Leeds, Rozina Breen, previously said in her evidence that Mr Belfield's one-year contract had not been renewed, and he had harassed her since then. Four days later, Belfied is alleged to have uploaded a video onto YouTube, which did not name her. @hegan_steve . Mr Belfield is not accused of physically stalking the complainants, who are mostly current or former BBC staff. He complained about his treatment by police. Nottingham Celebrity Radio Alex Belfield Talks about Court . Is climate change killing Australian wine? Alex Belfield had allegedly accused the BBC of hiring her for a "box ticking exercise", claimed the prosecution at his Nottingham Crown Court trial. The judge said Belfield had made "wholly false" allegations about Mr Vine stealing 1,000 of BBC licence payers' money, in a video which was viewed by more than 400,000 people. Did this woman die because her genitals were cut? But when questioned by police, Belfield told them he was the subject of a witch hunt, a thorn in the BBC's side and that he was not guilty of any of the allegations against him. However, a spokesman for Nottinghamshire Police said: Mr Bellfield remains subject of a live criminal investigation. The judge said that while Belfield did not physically approach or watch his victims, the effects were just as damaging. The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure. "He was seconds away from taking his own life as a result of your conduct," the judge, Mr Justice Saini, told Belfield. No charges have ever been brought against Mr Belfield, who is in a civil legal dispute with the Corporation, but Nottinghamshire have extended his bail on a number of occasions despite failing to get approval from the courts to do so. The sentences on each charge Belfield was convicted on: 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; Count 6: Videographer Ben Hewis, guilty of stalking to cause alarm and distress - the sentence is consecutive to the previous term for the stalking of Mr Keith. Recent Post by Page. The judge said it was an aggravating factor that Belfield's harassment was public, as this caused his social media followers to also abuse Mr Spedding over a "lengthy period". Detective Constable Janet Percival, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: People often associate stalking with physical actions, such as following or harassing somebody in the street. Today at 1:44 AM. Create new account. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. The judge said Belfield "bombarded" Mr Spedding - who had previously been friends with Belfield - with Facebook messages and emails, and made "highly abusive" YouTube videos containing false allegations. This is people driven into mental health breakdowns with no support, by an employer that obviously didn't care.". Belfield was convicted of 4 charges - two were alternatives of "simple stalking". May Bank Holiday supermarket opening times for Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Tesco and more, Leeds United considering major decision in Nottingham Forest relegation fight. The BBC has said it is conducting an internal review "to establish what lessons can be learned" from the Belfield case. On Friday, 16 September, Belfield, was jailed for five years and 26 weeks. However, the women Belfield harassed have asked the BBC for an independent review or investigation. 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The criteria for applying for an order are set out in section 1(1) of the Stalking Protection Act 2019. Ms Green, who worked with Belfield at BBC Radio Leeds, said on Wednesday: "My mental health has been destroyed. Belfield denies all the charges and the trial continues. Because Mr Belfield was not giving evidence, some of the claims he made during his closing speech could not be challenged by the prosecution by way of cross-examination. NO FURTHER ACTION 2 Nottingham Police DISGRACE .