A 56-year-old man has been sentenced for spitting at former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in a “barrage of abuse” during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
Gerald Dore assaulted Mr Corbyn on 20 May last year at the corner of Seven Sisters Road, north London, while the MP was cycling with his wife Laura Alvarez.
Prosecutor Matt Barrowcliffe told Westminster Magistrates' Court that the 56-year-old swore at Mr Corbyn after he gestured for him to cross the road.
“He began shouting and swearing aggressively towards both parties before ultimately taking a step towards Mr Corbyn and spitting,” Mr Barrowcliffe said.
In a statement read by the prosecutor, Mr Corbyn said he was “alarmed and distressed by the aggressive behaviour” and was particularly concerned by the man spitting in his face.
Representing himself, Dore said the incident was not motivated by the Islington North MP’s politics as he claimed that he did not know him.
“I didn't dislike him, he was just in my way and I was trying to get home,” he told the court.
“All I was trying to do was cross the road and he was in the way. I might have sprayed him.”
Dore previously admitted one count of assault by beating against Mr Corbyn and a second charge of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause fear of unlawful violence.
He added that he had chronic pain and mental health issues, and the court was told he had a lower culpability.
“To spit at someone is gross in any circumstance but to do so at a time when the infections were running very high was very serious indeed,” district judge Adrian Turner said, although he accepted that the assault was a chance encounter.
The judge gave Dore an 18 month community order, which will include 80 hours of unpaid work, and ordered him to pay £250 in compensation, including £150 to Mr Corbyn and £100 to his wife.
Additional reporting by PA
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