A DRAMATIC conclusion to a day-long trial saw a man found guilty of harassing Thurrock MP Jackie Doyle-Price collapse in the dock.

Self-styled, but council-recognised, children's campaigner Jack Barnes was brought before Basildon magistrates today (Friday, 13 March) accused of causing the MP harm and distress and the case was proved despite the fact Ms Doyle-Price admitted she had used foul language towards him as he tried to engineer a meeting to discuss his concerns over the council's children's services department.

The court also heard that Essex Police officers were happy to drop the case alleging improper behaviour by Barnes, 46, of Colne Close, South Ockendon, but was told the investigating officer in command was instructed to pursue it by Thurrock's police commander after a conversation with the MP.

In the wake of that call Barnes, who has become widely known as 'Scouse Megaphone Man' because of his use of the speaking device to make his protests, was arrested and spent two nights in a prison cell in November.

He then appeared before the magistrates and was ordered to reappear for trial today when several incidents involving him confronting the MP between 28 June and 23 November 2019 were recalled.

The trial was originally set to hear charges of harassment against Ms Doyle-Price and three Thurrock Conservative supporters, her common-law husband and councillor Mark Coxshall, Cllr Andrew Jefferies and Conservative party worker and volunteer Ben Gadsby.

However, the prosecution asked the court to amend the charge, deleting the others and just concentrating on Ms Doyle-Price, a former junior government minister responsible for mental health.

Magistrates agreed. They were then briefed on the background to the case and later showed video clips of a number of incidents. It was alleged that Barnes had been involved in three significant incidents in which he had offended and that he was guilty of knowing, or ought to have known, that his behaviour amounted to harassment of her.

The incidents involved Barnes shouting and running after her in Thurrock Council's offices on New Road, Grays, he then attended the local Conservative party's election campaign offices and then stood outside those offices and used a megaphone to criticise her actions and lack of support for his causes.

Barnes pleaded not guilty to the three charges of harassment.

Prosecutor Miss Jane Oldfield told the court: "It's a course of conduct that amounted to harassment of Jackie Doyle-Price.

"The background to all of this she is the MP for Thurrock. The defendant is a constituent of hers.

"They first came into contact around 2013 when the defendant needed help from her in relation to ongoing family proceedings. She did help the defendant and their relationship was good. He supported her in her 2015 election campaign and campaigned for her.

"Following the election he became more critical because he felt she wasn't being supportive in his ongoing battle with Thurrock Council. He continued to be very critical on social media and on radio interviews."

Ms Oldfield then told the court that matters came to a head of sorts in 2015 when he confronted her while she was canvassing in South Ockendon with friends and volunteer supporters.

The court heard Miss Oldfield say Ms Doyle-Price had responded by facing up to Barnes and told him to 'F*** Off'.

The prosecution continued: "The contact strayed into the criminal world and began to take the form of harassment. On 28 Oct the defendant went to Thurrock Council offices where Miss Doyle-Price was and confronted her. She walked away and asked him to leave her alone.

"The second incident on 12 November 2019 was again captured on video. The defendant turned up at the Conservatives' campaign office in London Road, West Thurrock, where she was working and she asked him to leave.

"A third incident on 22 November led to a report to police, an escalation of the previous attempts to contact Miss Doyle-Price. On this occasion he turned up at the campaign office and for approximately 45 minutes was shouting through a megaphone towards the office, addressing all of his comments to Miss Doyle-Price who actually wasn't in the building.

"He can be heard 'ripping her a new one'. He hoped she felt a bit of the pain the parents in the community in Thurrock did.

"She was in contact by telephone. At that stage one of her colleagues called the police. She found his behaviour distressing and frightening. The defendant was arrested and interviewed.

"The defendant told the police that he felt very aggrieved towards Miss Doyle-Price because he felt she had betrayed promises. He felt his behaviour was within the scope of political protest and free speech."

Miss Oldfield told the court that Barnes had a history with Miss Doyle-Price going back to 2012.

The MP took to the witness stand and Miss Oldfield said: "Back at the time you were approached for assistance with problems he was having with his daughter and social services. The result was that Barnes and his partner were offered compensation."

Miss Doyle-Price picked up the narrative, saying: "They went through a legal process to get their child back. I supported them and when they got the child back I went to the council and worked as their advocate. They got compensation, but not to their satisfaction so I decided to step back and advised them to go legal."

Under questioning Miss Doyle-Price confirmed that during the positive aspects of the relationship they had got on well, saying: "He worked on the campaign. He was part of the team. We had a lot of fun on that campaign."

She continued: "The relationship then deteriorated. A matter of days after the election he did an interview. Prior to the election he had been asking me to call a public inquiry because there were instances of systemic failings within children's social services in Thurrock.

"From 2015 he was not happy with my decision to back the campaign for an enquiry. He started films which he would post on Facebook, addressing outside Thurrock Council with his megaphone and generally making lots of noise.

"The animosity was directed at Thurrock Council social services and myself. He has quite a following among a community through his online persona and name of Scouse Megaphone Man.

"Over a period from 2015 to last year I didn't see him in person, maybe because he would not know where I would be. It became clear to me that if I made it known where I would be he would turn up with his megaphone. He would routinely be outside Thurrock Council offices with his megaphone.

"With two of my friends I was canvassing in the Ockendon area in 2017 when we came into the street where Mr Barnes lives. At that point he came out with his megaphone. I told him to f*** off!

"I told him to f*** off because he followed both of my colleagues down the street hollering with his megaphone, shouting I was a liar and a disgrace. I was very anxious because it was aggressive behaviour and confrontational. He approached me and said can I have five minutes of your time, I told him he had forfeited any right to my time and told him to f*** off!"

Miss Doyle-Price then told the court about another incident at the council offices in October 2019.

"It was just before the general election was called but we knew it was imminent.

"I was receiving the prime minister at Thurrock Council as he was coming to pay his respects to the 39 dead who had been found in the back of a container.

"I also had a meeting with the chief constable to discuss the investigation. I saw Jack Barnes in the public reception area of Thurrock Council.

"My recollection is I was walking to my car, he saw me and came running towards me. The only thing I said to him was 'Tha's all Jack'. I did not want to engage with him. He had been consistently abusing me on social media. I did not want to engage with him – that is might right.

"I knew that if he knew I would be somewhere he would be there and that made me very anxious."

She then moved on to another incident on 12 November 2019 which happened at the Conservative party office off London Road in West Thurrock.

"I was at our Conservative campaign office. Other businesses are there, including one significant business with a lot of people working in an insurance company.

"I was on the landing of the office and in the morning, at quarter past nine I saw Jack and his partner Cheryl. I had another parliament colleague in the building with me. I was hoovering the office, as it happens, when he came.

"The fact that he walked into the office made me feel threatened. He was becoming increasingly confrontational and aggressive.

"I told him I was not speaking to him and said 'You have no business being here. Please leave."

"They remained outside filming for a little while. I don't know what they were doing."

And finally Miss Doyle-Price recalled an incident on 22 November.

"I was at home. I was aware I received a call from Mark, my partner, who advised me not to come to the office because Jack Barnes was outside. I could hear him on the megaphone.

"I felt very anxious and upset. We were in the middle of a campaign. I rely very heavily on volunteers. It's not very pleasant for them to be harangued by a man on a megaphone. He had worked on a campaign previously so he knew some of them by name,

"It also affected other businesses. I felt it was time this had to stop. On that occasion he was causing disruption not just to me but to my supporters and to my neighbours. It had to stop. There was a pattern of escalation and I wasn't sure where it would end. I could see the possibility of it escalating to violent confrontation in the future."

Miss Doyle-Price was then quizzed by defence counsel Reece Rosser who said: "Do you tell many constituents to f*** off? It's relevant because I understand previously you had also told a Lib Democrat candidate to f*** off. I would have thought an MP would have a higher threshold to dealing with criticism.

"I am asking the witness to comment if she would normally tell people to f*** off."

Ms Doyle-Price said she responded that way because she was responding to some who was 'aggressively' following her.

Mr Rosser moved to the nature of Barnes' complaint, saying: "All the interaction is related to children's social services. He has a following with Fathers for Justice and other similar social media.

"Everything he has said to you is about social services and his case. His specific complaint is about Thurrock Council. He is effectively scrutinising the local council. I don't think he was scrutinising you."

Miss Doyle-Price responded by saying: "There are channels of how to do it. I am elected to represent the people In my constituency. Scrutinising national government is how I do it."

Mr Rosser said: "As a children's rights campaigner he is scrutinising the council", prompting the response: "No he's making noise. He is a nuisance. There are channels he could go through, that's how you hold people to scrutiny but he chooses to use a megaphone outside the offices."

Miss Doyle-Price then repeated her concerns about Barnes, saying: "He accosted me in a public area. Filming me in a public space is an act of confrontation. There was no reason for me t engage with him any further. It's up to me what I do as a member of parliament."

Mr Rosser then pressed Miss Doyle-Price about the way police were involved, suggesting she had acted inappropriately by making a personal call to the district commander, to which the MP responded: "I did advice my office to escalate it to the police. There was not a phone call to the district commander, there was a call to the police."

At the close of Miss Doyle-Price's evidence, chair of the magistrates' Frances Annobi warned supporters of the defendant in the public gallery to control their behaviour, saying gestures they were making were inappropriate.

"The gestures and everything else must stop otherwise we will have you removed," she said.

Next into the witness box was Thurrock councillor Andrew Jeffries, who was the regional Conservative campaign manager. He detailed what had happened on 12 November, when he had intervened when Barnes entered the Conservative campaign office.

He said: "I positioned myself between Jackie and the gentleman, He was raising his voice and shouting and I felt the situation wasn't safe and he needed to leave the office and I needed to get Jackie away.

"He asked my name, I didn't give. It. I asked him to leave. I assumed they had left, I looked out of the building and saw them walking off. I assumed they drove off."

He then went on to describe the incident on 22 November, saying: "I became aware of Jack Barnes talking through a megaphone. Jackie wasn't in the office.

"He was saying he wanted to speak to Jackie, he wanted her to come down and talk to him, He said 'this is what the Conservative party is like, they won't come and talk'."

Cllr Jefferies said during the time Barnes was on the megaphone he accompanied volunteers because 'I was concerned about his behaviour that it could be escalated more. I felt they would feel safer being escorted to their car."

However, under cross examination from Mr Rosser, Cllr Jefferies was forced to concede that his statement to police about the nature and timings he had talked about. In particular, through playing a video, Mr Rosser showed that a statement Cllr Jefferies had said about Barnes 'invading his space and being aggressive' was incorrect.

Cllr Jefferies was forced to concede: "If I have exaggerated it, it wasn't intentional."

Conservative supporter Ben Gadsby was next to enter the witness box and come under the questioning of Mr Rosser about the veracity and strength of his statements to police.

He too was forced to concede that his statements to police were not a full and correct representation of what happened and that he had actually had a Facebook conversation with Barnes about the video posted of the visit to the Conservative office which was of a non-confrontational nature.

Under questioning from defence counsel Mr Gadsby, a policy and research advisor to the Conservatives and a volunteer in the Jackie Doyle-Price campaign team, told the court that during the time Barnes was outside on his megaphone the office had received a number of 'nuisance' calls – though there was no suggestion Barnes or his partner who was filming him had given out the office number.

"We got nuisance calls but we were able to continue work. There's an attitude you have to keep the show on the road, volunteers were arriving, we continued to make them tea and given them leaflets."

Mr Gadsby then said that he and Ms Doyle-Price's partner, Mark Coxshall, had decided to call the police and they did so separately. Quizzed by Mr Rosser Mr Gadsby conceded his message to police was: "It's the usual nuisance, not too much of an issue, just a nuisance, He is not dangerous. It's not the sort of thing you need to send an armed police car for."

Pressed by Mr Rosser, Mr Gadsby also conceded that use of a megaphone was not restricted to the defendant and he conceded that the Conservatives had used a megaphone from an open topped bus, including shouting through it to people in and outside the civic offices.

Cllr Mark Coxshall, Ms Doyle-Price's parliamentary office manager and a Thurrock Council cabinet member – as well as Miss Doyle-Price's partner – was nxt to give evidence and he said that Barnes' continued aggression with the MP was a concern that had changed the way she had to go about her businesses, saying that fear of meeting him meant she could not do her job as well as she wanted.

He said: "His behaviour was intimidating, it felt like it had been continuous for many years. For example when he came to the civic offices we had wanted to have a political conversation with the leader of the council but we left because Jack Barnes was there and shouting at us. I just wanted to leave and take Jackie away."

The final prosecution witness was Thurrock CID officer Dan Stevens, who was in charge of the investigation. He told the court that the Facebook videos posted by the defendant and his partner had been downloaded and analysed.

Miss Oldfield guided the court through extensive replays of a number of videos during which the defendant made a number of statements.

He said: "Truth is an acquired taste" and referred to a number of alleged failings by the council, including the death of toddler Katie Eden – a matter still not addressed by a Thurrock Children's Safeguarding Board See story and the subject of much controversy.

He referred to the number of alleged council failings in the 'Baby Eden' case and said there was considerable doubt about the way Thurrock Council had handled it and the council were covering up their failings'. He detailed the fact that at the same time as an unrealised barrister's report commissioned by the council had apparently vindicated them from fault, the councillor leader Rob Gledhill had been forced by media pressure and his own actions to commission a serious case review.

That was one of the reasons he wanted to speak to Ms Doyle-Price. His emotive video plea was: "This is just one of the questions I wanted her to ask. This is her job. The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing and she turns her back on it. There are many questions we want to ask Jackie Doyle-Price.

"She is going to be on the streets campaigning for votes. We want answers to the questions."

Aside from the emotive conversations the video portrayed, it also recorded some statements that would ultimately prove damning to the defendant.

He was show to say: "Let's go and rip someone a new one" as he donned his megaphone and you make me sick Jackie Doyle-Price, you leave a horrible taste in my mouth young lady."

He also said he wanted her to feel the pain that parents were feeling.

Mr Stevens told the court Barnes was arrested by other officers at his home on 23 November and taken to Grays police station where he was interviewed.

Under cross examination Mr Stevens conceded that he and other officers had initially considered the case and had decided to take no further action.

The court heard: "The original call we received was that it was the 'usual nuisance' and that no one was threatened. As of 1.38pm this was closed off as anti-social behaviour and there was to be no arrest, no further behaviour.

"At 8pm the case was reopened because the district commander said she had received a phone call. If there hadn't been a call to district commander at Essex police this would have not gone any further."

Mr Rosser was quick to seize on this point and tried to press the matter saying that it appeared that "this case is only before the court because of a phone call from the Conservative office to the district commander. It may be that it is an abuse of process."

He went on to ask Mr Stevens: "Is it as a result of that phone call, that Mr Barnes was then arrested?" but his question was ruled inadmissible and not relevant by the senior magistrate and court clerk.

When he appeared in the witness box Jack Barnes presented a somewhat confused, and at times vulnerable figure. He told magistrates some of the history that that had turned him into being a a children's activist.

"I was brought before the family court by Thurrock Council and accused of being a threat to national security and of having been in prison for eight years. These were lies but the council took my child away from me.

"I went back to family court and I proved my innocence and got my child back. Thurrock social services had not only lied, they completely misjudged the situation. Eventually Thurrock Council apologised in private and granted me compensation," he said.

He went on to deliver a damning indictment of children's social services in Thurrock, though he acknowledged there were exceptions, saying: "I have never tarred all social workers with the same brush. We have some good social care workers at Thurrock Council.

"But I carried on my campaign to give children a voice and I became and advocate to people going through family courts.

"I have never been judgemental on the local authority in those cases, sometimes I have shared their view.

"And in November 2019 Thurrock Council's education department recognised my work when they sent me a letter saying: 'We would like to take this opportunity thank you for your continued work campaigning for children's rights'. They thanked me for keeping the memory of Poppy Worthington alive. A victim of a despicable crime.

"I was labelled an Essex legend. Getting that message put wind in my sails to carry on working for children. I tried to get meetings with Jackie Doyle-Price. I just wanted to sit down with her and discuss my case and children's services and what was happening in Thurrock. I want children's services to be better, we have a fantastic process but we can make it better.

"I have done the worst possible thing a human could have to do, hand my child over and see her taken away from me. I was in trauma.

"In October 2019 I went to the offices to see if I could speak to Boris Johnson. I wanted to speak to him about children's services as a whole.

"If I thought that Jackie was upset I would have left. I was asked to leave and I left. I actually hold Jackie in high regard over some things she has done but I should have been given the chance to speak to her."

And he went on to say that the accolade he had received from Thurrock Council spurred him on to step up his campaign. "I chose my moment because I had just got the email thanking me, it put wind in my sails.

"It was campaign week for the elections. I wanted to talk to Jackie Doyle-Price about social care as a whole and the failings in the council. I had tried to get a meeting with her.

"But I was asked to leave and I left. At any time when I was asked to leave I have never refused to do so, I have always been in control, I want to stand on the moral high ground, but I am passionate about transparency for local care.

"I was given no other option but to exercise my right to freedom of speech. I did it to call for transparency and to let my voice to be heard for the children."

Detailing his visit to the Conservative campaign office in late November office, he said: "I just chose the time because it was campaign week, people would be going in and out in the office.

"No one asked me to stop or leave. Local businesses actually brought me drinks.

"I did not think anyone was upset. If I had thought that I would have stayed on the moral high ground and stopped. If anyone has asked me to do something I have done it.

"I have never said anything other than for my campaign for children's rights. There are many people within the council who have told me they like the way I am going about this in the right way."

Quizzed by Miss Oldfield, the defendant was asked to explain his actions. She said: "You were calling her a disgrace and saying some very rude things about her. Yu said she was a disgrace and she had let people down.

"I suggest your behaviour towards Miss Doyle-Price since 2015 is based on animosity to her personally.

"I am suggesting you were specifically targeting Miss Doyle Price and saying rude things to her, specifically about 'ripping her one' – a euphemism for 'ripping her ass out' a violent threat."

He responded: "No. That is taken out of context. It's just a saying. I just feel I am not getting a crack of the whip.

"This is about campaigning for accountability and transparency. This is about a community thing, a social services problem.

"When I spoke to her in the street and I was sworn at I didn't respond. I am not about personal attacks, it is about policy and solution.

"She told me to 'sue the arse out of the council' to do them for maladministration. After that I feel I was professionally avoided.

"She told me I had forfeited the right to talk to her. I think that is a magnified sense of self-importance. I should be able to go to my MP. Even after she swore at me, I asked her if she would like to go for a cup of coffee but she didn't tell me she had decided not to engage with me."

Miss Oldfield pressed the point, saying: "You decided not to respect her wishes. You were going to continue to try and see her against her wishes. You simply didn't care that she had not wanted to see you."

Barnes rejected this, saying: "I did care. I passionately wanted to get children's rights improved. I don't think I did cause alarm and distress.

"I just wanted to have a professional chat with a professional MP."

He then went on to explain what motivated him and his behaviour, saying: "I have suppressed a hell of a lot of feelings and kept control through this whole process.

"I have no personal vendetta against anyone, let alone the MP. Using the megaphone has never been about anger, it's about frustration, It's my only tool, freedom of speech.

"As for let's rip someone a new one, it is a figure of speech, it can be taken out of context.

"All I meant was let's hold the professionals to account. I am not about hurting people's feelings. I think I was rightly expressing myself."

And he went on to defend his statement "I hope you are feeling a bit of the pain people are feeling in the community" which was described as 'offensive and distressing' by Miss Oldfield.

He said: "Democracy is being challenged. I didn't want to distress her but I want her to be embarrassed. I did not think she was harassed, alarmed or distressed. No. We never felt she was. It was purely about embarrassment, for her to feel it.

"I have never gone to her house. It's not personal."

His partner, Cheryl Rich, was the final person to give evidence in court and said: "We campaign for justice to children. No one has ever asked us to stop doing that.

"I feel Jackie Doyle-Price is a disgrace to the oath she took. We have held her to account.

"I was happy to film my partner campaigning for justice. I want the people to hear our fight for justice."

And a final statement was read to the court from former Thurrock council leader John Kent, under whose administration the defendant had his child taken away.

Cllr Kent said: "I have been asked to provide a personal reference for Jack Barnes – which I am happy to do. I have known Mr Barnes since around 2013.

"At that time I was the Leader of Thurrock Council and Mr Barnes – and his partner Cheryl Rich – were involved in a very distressing, and very public, dispute with Thurrock Council over their baby daughter.

"Both Jack and Cheryl put everything into their campaign and this would often become public. Jack would frequently use "Twitter" to publicise their case.

Often, he would copy me into these tweets or tweet me directly. Although some of these tweets were very direct, I never felt that Jack crossed a line.

"Jack would, frequently, stand outside the Civic Offices making his case by shouting through his megaphone. On many occasions Jack would mention me by name and ask me to come outside to see him.

"There were many times when I did go and speak to Jack. He was never anything other than courteous and would always use the megaphone to thanks me for taking the time to speak to him – the megaphone may have, sometimes, been annoying I never, personally, found it in any way intimidating."

Summing up Miss Oldfield said: "Of course it is not contested that people have the right of free speech and political protest. But this court has to determine if this person's conduct went beyond the right of free speech and into criminal harassment.

"The prosecution case is that the defendant's behaviour started as legitimate public political protest but by the time of November 2019 it had escalated to such a pitch that it crossed the line from free speech to harassment.

"In this case there is a history between the defendant and Jackie Doyle-Price since 2015. She has made it more than clear that she would not back the campaign against Thurrock Council. She made it clear to the defendant in person and that he had forfeited the right to her support.

"He must have been aware she did not wish to engage or talk to him."

Mr Rosser concluded: "This is an individual who is recognised by a Labour councillor and Thurrock education department as a children's rights campaigner.

"Are we sure these incidents actually amount to harassment rather than being someone demonstrating about an issue of public interest?

"He was entirely polite and pleasant. At the campaign office the door was open. He went in. He asked a question, he was asked to leave. So he left.

"Even the final incident. He did something that Jackie Doyle-Price does herself. Asking tough questions and using a megaphone. He was campaigning at length about children's, rights, democracy, transparency and the role that an MP has to play.

"This is not harassment, this is a campaign. The actions must be calculated to cause alarm or distress. Did Mr Barnes know that his conduct amounted to harassment?

"The only time he knew that she did not want to talk to him is when she told him to f*** off.

"Common sense has to be applied. Mr Barnes may be annoying but that is not a criminal offence."

However, the magistrates disagreed.

Announcing their 'guilty' verdict the chairman said: "It's accepted you door-stepped Jackie Doyle-Price on a number of occasions and were told to go away.

"We were advised the prosecution had to prove its case. We find that the defendant's conduct was persistent over a short period where you believed you would attract maximum impact. Your conduct was intended to cause her alarm and distress. We now know that you caused some distress and you did all this because you would not take no for an answer.

"We find that from the credibility of the witnesses today.

"You were asked to leave the premises and at no point were you given the impression that she wanted to speak to you.

"You targeted her because you wanted her to 'feel some of the pain' using phrases such as ripping a new one. There has been impact on her work-life and being able to carry out her job within the constituency. There has been distress caused."

Barnes, who shed tears as the verdict was delivered and then collapsed in the dock, was helped from the court. He will have to return on 9 April when sentence is delivered after a pre-sentence report which will include details of his health and state of mind has been prepared.