Mr Vine faced a torrent of abuse online, including thousands of social media messages from Belfields followers and personal threats. %PDF-1.7
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Port Vale F.C. 15:33, 16 SEP 2022. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. "You made this highly successful and confident radio presenter lose all joy in life and turned him into a shell.". A former BBC DJ has been found guilty of waging a relentless stalking campaign against broadcasters and subjecting TV presenter Jeremy Vine to an 'avalanche of hatred.' Alex Belfield was labelled . Mr Spedding said Belfield's YouTube videos, emails and social media messages had included highly abusive language and a threat to "hound you for the rest of your life". 27 febrero, 2023 . The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. Alex Belfield, 42, who "weaponised the internet", was last month found guilty at Nottingham Crown Court of waging a relentless campaign, with TV's Mr Vine subjected to an "avalanche of hatred". arring a successful appeal, Belfield will serve at least the next two years and 39 weeks in jail, before being released on licence to serve the second half of his sentence. Silence was the best policy in the eyes of the corporation. "Although you at no stage committed any physical acts, Mr Vine considered himself and his family to be at risk from you and his followers," the judge told Belfield. The opening of the trial heard that Belfield had been a presenter at BBC Radio Leeds, having been given a one-year contract in spring 2010. I pleaded with him (Belfield) to stop. More videos coming soon.. UPDATE. Belfield currently hosts the Voice of Reason YouTube channel, which has over 372,000 subscribers. You are entitled to hold and express views but you are not entitled to destroy the personal lives of your victims through online harassment.. Labour MP Barry Sheerman is calling for an independent inquiry into how the BBC treated female staff who were harassed online by Belfield. The former BBC radio presenter was jailed for five-and-a-half years after being convicted in September. Belfield, who is 42 and from Nottingham, was originally charged with stalking eight different people, who were mostly current or former BBC staff. Sometimes these emails included what the judge said were highly offensive and personal comments about their physical appearance, including sexualised comments as well as wholly false allegations that the women had bullied him. 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. I dont think that stuff even bothered him.. 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. One of the BBC targets was Bernie Keith, a veteran presenter at BBC Radio Northampton who was once Belfields friend. READ MORE: The cinemas in Northamptonshire showing the Queen's funeral on Monday for free, Jurors accepted Belfield caused serious alarm or distress to two victims and found him guilty of simple stalking in relation to Channel 5 and BBC Radio 2 presenter Mr Vine and theatre blogger Philip Dehany. Feb 8. The Version table provides details related to the release that this issue/RFE will be addressed. Others were their boss, Rozina Breen, and Ms Breen's boss Helen Thomas. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. His planned appeal has now been mentioned in court by the trial judge, at a hearing which related to an error made when Belfield was sentenced. "He was seconds away from taking his own life as a result of your conduct," the judge, Mr Justice Saini, told Belfield. One of the BBC targets was Bernie Keith, a veteran presenter at BBC Radio Northampton who was once Belfield's friend. "He said he could see their distress in court and feels deeply sorry for what he did.". News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. endstream
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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; Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk. Bernie Keith confirms he's mentally ill and in therapy March 2020. The royal we was a frequent Belfield affectation, designed to give the impression that he sat at the top of an anti-woke multimedia empire in the Alex Jones/Infowars mould. . Belfield, 42, subjected four people in a "relentless" campaign of stalking - including broadcaster Jeremy Vine. 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'. The judge, Mr Justice Saini, granted Belfield bail and told him to return to Nottingham Crown Court for sentencing next month. He presents aYouTubechannel called Voice of Reason, which has over 361,000 subscribers. I couldn't destroy the gift of life that they (his parents) gave me.'. Count 8: Jeremy Vine, not guilty to stalking to cause alarm and distress but guilty to simply stalking - Belfield is sentenced to 13 weeks consecutively for stalking Mr Vine. Ex-BBC DJ Alex Belfield has been jailed for five-and-a-half years for stalking four colleagues including BBC Radio Northampton's Bernie Keith. 2023 BBC. BBC Radio Northampton DJ Bernie Keith told the court he was left feeling suicidal by a tsunami of hate. . I live in fear and I have done for a long time, she says. One of the complainants was his former colleague, Liz Green, who also presented a show at the radio station. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. I am offensive My human right allows me to speak words that are not to everyones taste, he told the jury. Last month, Belfield was found guilty of stalking Hewis and BBC Radio Northampton presenter Bernie Keith, and convicted of "simple" stalking - which means stalking without alarm or distress . Ben Hewis refuses to engage with the police and hand over the email. If you can help with mounting legal costs please email alex@alexbelfield.co.uk, Uploaded by Alex Belfield at Celebrity Radio 13th March 2020. For the BBC to protect the liar who did this is unthinkable in 2020. Former BBC DJ Alex Belfield has been discovered responsible of the relentless stalking of different broadcasters, together with Jeremy Vine, who he Trending 'La Brea' Season 2 Trailer Goes EVEN DEEPER. Barring a successful appeal, Belfield will serve at least the next two years and 39 weeks in jail, before being released on licence to serve the second half of his sentence. For the TV presenter Jeremy Vine, the most high-profile target of arguably Britains most prolific troll, it would be the first time in several years that he could host a live phone-in without worrying that one of Belfields acolytes would hijack the programme to confront him with Belfields lies. 'I can't remember when I have had a run of good sleep of longer than five hours. \Mb+r'rS~(aU\voP GCK16X0v04p62h,3 0b``f:(x3j=)\-u`IL! Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? Belfield started wearing Trump polo shirts and began campaigning against small boat crossings in the Channel, using a dinghy as a prop for his live shows. Addressing the jury in the third week of the trial, Mr Keith said Belfield's YouTube videos, emails and social media messages had included highly abusive language and a threat to 'hound you for the rest of your life'. He was cleared of stalking charges in relation to the BBC's former head of North Rozina Breen, former BBC Radio Leeds presenters Liz Green and Stephanie Hirst, and former BBC worker Helen Thomas. At first, he grew his audience with silly sketches and phone-ins, railing against government Covid policy, particularly the ban on care-home visits. Belfield soon became obsessed with ruining Hewiss professional and personal life. In December 2011, Belfield made his debut on BBC Radio 2 with Jimmy Savile's "last in-depth interview", recorded at Savile's Leeds home in February that year. Its not enough to leave us to sink and swim, as we had to in this case, Breen wrote in an email to Rhodri Talfan Davies, the BBCs director of nations. Green was having none of it: I went up to him and I said: You are a grade-A wanker. She stands by that description, but came to regret making an enemy of someone who turned out to be a herculean grudge-holder. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. Russian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims. He soon made enemies in the theatre world, says a director who started monitoring his online activities a few years ago (and who wishes to remain anonymous). Giving evidence to Nottingham Crown Court under his full name of Bernie Keith Spedding, he said his reputation is 'now in shreds' after 'proclamations of hate' and death threats, which have affected his health. "Throughout this trial, victims and other witnesses have given evidence with dignity and I would like to thank them for their willingness to give evidence. Prosecutors allege that Alex Belfield caused alarm and distress to eight victims after his contract with BBC Radio Leeds was not renewed in 2011. . He was convicted Friday, August 5, 2022, on four counts of stalking. Alex Belfield is a 42-year-old former BBC radio star and vlogger who hails from Nottinghamshire. She was looking for a new presenter to liven up the mid-morning show and thought Belfield, who was working for BBC Hereford and Worcester, was the man for the job. Two days have been set aside to hear the application at Nottingham Magistrates' Court on March 7. while Mr Keith said the . Thats when Rozina Breen, then the managing editor at BBC Radio Leeds, decided to take what she thought was a calculated chance. 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". Hazell is one of numerous others who now say Belfield trolled them. 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. 578 0 obj
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He also agreed with Mr Vines characterisation that the ex-DJ had weaponised the internet against those he targeted. 562 0 obj
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'You can't work out how it's happened. I hope you take some time to consider Bernie Keith's statement. The judge told Belfield that while not traditional stalking, his methods were just as effective a way of intimidating victims and in many ways much harder to deal with.