Emily Maitlis’s stalker, Edward Vines, has been harassing the BBC broadcaster for almost 30 years. On Thursday, he appeared for sentencing at Nottingham Crown Court
Emily Maitlis’s stalker, Edward Vines, has been sentenced to five years imprisonment at Nottingham Crown Court today after harassing the BBC star for nearly 30 years.
Last month Vines, 54, was found guilty of breaching a restraining order, which prevents him from contacting the BBC Newsnight host, 54. A jury took less than a hour to unanimously find him guilty after he opted to act as his own defence in the trial.
As he was sentenced to five years behind bars today, Judge Mark Watson described his offending as “an extreme case”.
The trial heard how Vines addressed letters to Emily and her parents, which breached the restraining order, which claimed she had been ‘ scornful ‘ to him during their friendship at university.
The court heard how he would send envelopes, sometimes with multiple letters inside, which were intercepted by prison staff at HMP Lowdham Grange in Nottinghamshire, where he was already serving a prison term.
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Jurors heard how Vines wrote in a letter to the presenter that he “regularly” suffers depression because their friendship ended. Prosecutor Fergus Malone read the letters aloud in court, which included him telling Maitlis he was “distraught” about the end of their friendship three months after he told her he loved her.
“I took the audacity of writing to you despite the restraining order because I’m still distraught about what took place between us in 1990”, Vines said in a letter dated July 2023.
“I regularly suffer depression over it and have for 30 years. I admit I’m not sure why I suffer so, but suffer I do”. The court heard how he addressed a letter to her mother in May that year and called Maitlis “offish and scornful”.
A restraining order was imposed by Nottingham Crown Court on September 5, 2022. It prohibited him from contacting the presenter, Marion Maitlis and Peter Maitlis. The jury was told he wrote and posted letters while in prison to all three of those people between May 2023 and February 2024.
In February last year, Emily said she felt ‘ empathy ‘ for the man who stalked her for almost 30 years, having become fixated on her during their time at Cambridge.
Vines, who was jailed for eight years in 2022 after breaching his 20th restraining order, bombarded the broadcaster and her family with letters, despite being handed numerous orders.
As per the BBC News, one letter saw him tell her he would ‘ continue to brood and to write letters in prison ‘ unless she talked to him about ‘ her behaviour ‘ during their student days in Cambridge in the 90s.
It is understood the stalker took offence after Emily cooled off their friendship. In a victim impact statement read before Oxford Crown Court in 2018, Emily, who wasn’t present, shared: “Altogether the breach has been a reminder for me that this man remains a constant threat in my life and my family’s life and that my ability to do my work, hang out with my children and lead a normal family life without a constant sense of suspicion and fear has been badly damaged”.
Last year, while appearing on the Desperately Seeking Wisdom podcast, Emily discussed the importance of changing how society talks about the issue of stalking as she called for better mental health support.
Emily said: “Look, I think of (Edward Vines) as having kind of lost his whole life over this, quite frankly. Of course, I feel empathetic to that. I think the trouble with stalking is that in our heads it sounds sort of celebrity related or glamorous – sort of dark streets and high heels – and most stalking has nothing to do with that.
” It’s just to do with an obsessional illness in the head of the person and actually we’re getting much better at recognising mental health and all its myriad forms now. “
*If you have been affected by this story, advice and support can be found at the Suzy Lamplugh Trust. You can call the national stalking helpline on 0808 802 0300 or find more information here.
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Source: Mirror
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