A man has appeared in court charged with a number of offences in the wake of alleged threats made against Health Minister Robin Swann.
William Herbert Hawkes, 44, of Ardmillan Crescent in Newtownards appeared before Newtownards Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
He has been charged with harassment, making threats to kill and improper use of electronic communications on November 15 2021.
Hawkes appeared via videolink, dressed in a grey sweatshirt, and confirmed that he understood the charges against him.
A PSNI detective sergeant said he could connect the accused to the charges.
District Judge Mark Hamill was told that Hawkes had appeared in court on similar charges earlier this month, when he was given a probation order.
The judge refused bail, given the serious nature of the charges before the court and the fact that Hawkes was in court on a related matter only 11 days prior to being charged with these latest offences.
Hawkes was remanded in custody to appear in court again by video-link on December 15.
On Tuesday, Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie said he had asked the Northern Ireland Office to carry out an assessment of the minister’s security.
Mr Beattie added: “Robin has had to increase his security already once and I’ve been in touch myself personally with the Northern Ireland Office to ask them to do an assessment of Robin’s security again, at a higher level – that’s the level we’ve got to at this moment in time.”
More to follow.
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