A convicted killer punched a Tory MP and threatened to murder him after snatching his iPhone 10.
Leslie Thorley, 42, stole Robert Largan's £1,200 phone on a train and refused to give it back to the Derbyshire MP unless he handed over all of his money.
He then hit Mr Largan in the face and threw a brick at him, although the MP managed to dodge it.
The convicted killer also threatened to 'murder' Mr Largan if he continued to follow him, the Manchester Evening News reports.
Minshull Street Crown Court heard how Mr Largan won the High Peak constituency for the Conservatives three months after the traumatic episode.
Unbeknown to Mr Largan, Thorley was out of prison on licence at the time for manslaughter committed in 2013.
In a victim statement, the politician said the theft of his phone had been a 'significant financial loss' for him, and was said to be deeply upset and shaken by the attack.
Mr Largan had been waiting for a train from Glossop to Manchester Piccadilly on September 4, 2019, when he noticed Thorley 'staring' at him on the platform.
The court heard that both men boarded the train at around 10pm and that Thorley made his way to sit next to Mr Largan, despite the train being nearly empty.
The would-be MP thought it was 'strange' that Thorley, who smelled of alcohol and who was drinking from a can of beer, sat beside him and asked him 'who are you... what do you do?'
Prosecutor, Zaiban Alam told the court: "The defendant attempted to engage in conversation with the complainant and then took his phone from his hand and put it in his pocket.
"Mr Largan tried to get his phone back and there was a tussle. The defendant refused to give it back.
"The defendant told him (Mr Largan) to give him back a can of beer or he would smash his face in."
The court heard that the politician was told by Thorley that if he wanted his phone back, he'd have to hand over "all of his money."
Thorley then punched Mr Largan in the face, the court heard.
"He picked up a brick and threw it at the complainant who was able to duck," Ms Alam said.
"The defendant said if he didn't stop following him that he would murder him. The complainant stopped pursuing Mr Thorley after this comment."
In a victim statement read to the court, Ms Alam said: "The iPhone was worth £1,200 and Mr Largan said this amounted to a significant financial loss for him.
"The incident upset him a great deal and he is now more aware of his surroundings then before.
"This also caused a lot of difficulty as he could not be contacted by his employer."
Thorley, who has a number of previous convictions for violence, was on licence at the time of the attack for an offence of manslaughter.
He has since been recalled to prison where he will serve the remainder of his licence period - until 2024.
At Minshull Street Crown Court, Thorley was jailed for 44 months to run concurrent to that jail term after admitting offences of theft and battery.
Thorley was also sentenced for an offence of GBH following a separate attack on a man a few weeks before on August 9, 2019.
This means the jail term for the two recent offences will not make any difference to Thorley's current release date in 2024.
After a Magistrates Court hearing in 2020, Mr Largan told the Manchester Evening News: "I just want to thank the police for their comprehensive and speedy response. They have been brilliant from start to finish."
