A few weeks after he was sent to jail, most of the 7,000-plus videos Belfield posted on YouTube are still publicly accessible. Last month, Belfield was found guilty of stalking Hewis and BBC Radio Northampton presenter Bernie Keith, and convicted of "simple" stalking - which means stalking without alarm or distress . Belfield, who now runs a YouTube channel called The Voice of Reason, told jurors he had legitimate reasons for his online communications. Stephanie Hirst, who took over Alex Belfield's slot at BBC Radio . Alex Belfields online harassment made life misery for BBC presenters Jeremy Vine, Liz Green and many others. What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? Prosecutors allege that Belfield, who hosts a radio channel on YouTube, waged a relentless nine-year campaign of stalking against eight victims, including ex-colleagues, after BBC Radio Leeds did not renew his contract in 2011. Bernard Spedding - guilty (majority verdict), Philip Dehany - not guilty to the charge on the indictment but guilty of the alternative charge of "simple" stalking (majority verdict), Jeremy Vine - not guilty to the charge on the indictment but guilty of the alternative charge of "simple" stalking (unanimous verdict). Mr Justice Saini had sentenced Belfield to two-and-a-half years for stalking one of the complainants, Bernie Keith. Belfield soon became obsessed with ruining Hewiss professional and personal life. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. Port Vale F.C. Mr Vine faced a torrent of abuse online, including thousands of social media messages from Belfields followers and personal threats. Each of them suffered a campaign of harassment by email and social media communications. Alex Belfield repeatedly posted abusive social media messages after his BBC contract wasn't renewed (Picture: PA) . For PR Pros Overview; Media Database . Christmas is always Belfield's busiest time of the year. Why did it take so long to bring him to justice? The opening of the trial heard that Belfield had been a presenter at BBC Radio Leeds, having been given a one-year contract in spring 2010. Green was having none of it: I went up to him and I said: You are a grade-A wanker. She stands by that description, but came to regret making an enemy of someone who turned out to be a herculean grudge-holder. I hope you take some time to consider Bernie Keith's statement. At first, he grew his audience with silly sketches and phone-ins, railing against government Covid policy, particularly the ban on care-home visits. One of the complainants was his former colleague, Liz Green, who also presented a show at the radio station. . Sanctimonious, petulant and remorseless, taking elements of fact and twisting them to suit his own purposes while belittling his targets and monetising these distortions, even as he sat in a prison cell. Prosecutors claimed Belfield subjected Vine to a relentless online campaign that included a wave of personal and unpleasant attacks on YouTube,TwitterandFacebookover an 11-month period. "He had to ask his family to watch out for you and to take care in and around their home address.". endstream endobj startxref Close Belfield-watchers believe his lurch to the right was a business decision rather than an ideological one. Bernard Spedding - guilty (majority verdict), Philip Dehany - not guilty to the charge on the indictment but guilty of the alternative charge of "simple" stalking (majority verdict), Jeremy Vine - not guilty to the charge on the indictment but guilty of the alternative charge of "simple" stalking (unanimous verdict). Even after YouTube stopped him making money from his channel, Belfield was still reasonably flush. While most defendants on trial try to avoid cameras on the way into court, Belfield seemed to be doing his best to attract them, wearing an array of wacky jackets and shirts. In relation to Jeremy Vine and theatre blogger Philip Dehany, Belfield was found guilty of two lesser offences of "simple" stalking, which does not require serious alarm or distress to be proved. First Belfield bawled out the stations beloved gardening correspondent for a perceived act of insubordination, prompting a surge of listener complaints. Bernie Keith who presents mid-morning shows on BBC Radio Northampton, said former BBC Radio Leeds DJ Alex Belfield had subjected him to 'naked' hatred and false claims. Police inquiry opened Feb 2020 Nottinghamshire Police. The police are advised to consider applying for an order where it appears to them that: Belfield was jailed last September after he was found guilty of waging a relentless stalking campaign against BBC Radio Northampton's Bernie Keith, and subjecting TV presenter Jeremy Vine to an "avalanche of hatred" - but has since lodged an appeal. The judge said that while Belfield did not physically approach or watch his victims, the effects were just as damaging. Video, Russian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims, US-made cheese can be called 'gruyere' - court, AOC under investigation for Met Gala dress, The children left behind in Cuba's exodus, Alex Murdaugh's legal troubles are far from over, Saving Private Ryan actor Tom Sizemore dies at 61, Walkie Talkie architect Rafael Violy dies aged 78, Sonic boom heard as RAF Typhoon jets escort plane, Nelson's 97th-minute stunner gives Arsenal victory. The judge made restraining orders in relation to all of the complainants, including those Belfield was not convicted of stalking. The author identified himself in the screen-grab published by Hewis. He hated being told how to improve by Jeremy, and thats where I think it all started.. VideoRussian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims, The children left behind in Cuba's mass exodus, Xi Jinping's power grab - and why it matters, Snow, Fire and Lights: Photos of the Week. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. Bernie Keithwho presents mid-morning shows and a weekly rock 'n' roll programme on BBC Radio Northampton, said former BBC Radio Leeds DJ Alex Belfield had subjected him to 'naked' hatred and false claims. In December 2011, Belfield made his debut on BBC Radio 2 with Jimmy Savile's "last in-depth interview", recorded at Savile's Leeds home in February that year. Who is Alex Belfield and why has he been jailed? If you are watching this, I have been sent to jail, intoned Belfield in his Steve Wright meets Alan Partridge boom, standing in front of a skewwhiff union jack in the living room of his Nottingham home, wearing one of his trademark jazzy shirts. For the best part of 10 years they had been complaining about Belfields vendetta, in which he sent hundreds, if not thousands, of emails to them and their superiors. endstream endobj 563 0 obj <>/Metadata 36 0 R/Pages 560 0 R/StructTreeRoot 43 0 R/Type/Catalog/ViewerPreferences 579 0 R>> endobj 564 0 obj <>/MediaBox[0 0 595.32 841.92]/Parent 560 0 R/Resources<>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI]>>/Rotate 0/StructParents 0/Tabs/S/Type/Page>> endobj 565 0 obj <>stream Launching it on 1 March this year, Belfield said he wanted to broadcast away from the toxic spectrumed trolls, lefties, fart heads & Mogadon moronic medicated mentalists & journalists. =NYOn:0'tzcD|k1xKx^-58nn-~?Oo>K KJ9OVJN3>:EOLbTk*q2ScG=UrS+0t-qNXZ.3X ;{h0B. Ben Hewis refuses to engage with the police and hand over the email. Alex Belfield, who now runs a YouTube channel, stalked his victims by harassing them online. = I;& Ben Hewis is perverting the course of justice. By the time Belfield began tormenting Dehany in 2020 he had become a successful YouTuber who could have been earning up to 528,000 a year, according to Social Blade, a website that monitors social media channels. %%EOF Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? The judge referred to the victims graphic and distressing evidence in court about the impact of Belfields campaign of harassment, and how he had been just seconds away from dying by suicide. Follow us on Facebook here and Twitter here. Belfield, 42, subjected four people in a "relentless" campaign of stalking - including broadcaster Jeremy Vine. Play it now! BBC Radio Northampton presenter Bernie Keith told the court he was left feeling suicidal by what he called Belfield's "tsunami of hate." Belfield's contract with BBC Radio Leeds ended in 2011. How many people signed up for 1 a week is unclear, though some live streams attracted barely 300 viewers. Judge tells Alex Belfield to expect jail over nine-year 'campaign of harassment' Belfield had harassed this victim, BBC Radio Northampton presenter Bernard Spedding, for nine years and some of his followers had sent him death threats. Online stalkers like you have an ability to recruit an army of followers whose conduct massively expands the effect of your stalking, he said. In his closing speech to jurors at Nottingham Crown Court, Belfield said he had a right to freedom of speech, and some of the communications were in his role as a journalist, holding the BBC to account. "Alex Belfield had no qualms about the abuse he handed out, in many cases publicly.". Finally, respite from what for some had been a decade of near-constant abuse. His trial heard he made YouTube videos about them, posted messages on social media, sent emails, and also encouraged those that follow him to target them. For just over three minutes, the 42-year-old delivered a monologue in which he said he was in prison for simply defending himself. Bernie Keith BBC Radio Northampton from Alex Belfield on Vimeo. 'My initial reaction (to the alleged stalking) was ''He's gone mad'',' Mr Keith said. Required fields are marked *. Living on the edge (literally! A "cruel" former BBC local radio presenter who stalked broadcasters including TV's Jeremy Vine and BBC Northampton 's Bernie Keith has been jailed for more than five years. Ex-BBC presenter Alex Belfield's "campaign of harassment" had left Northampton's Bernie Keith "just seconds away" from suicide. A former BBC radio presenter found guilty of stalking four people including broadcaster Jeremy Vine has been jailed for five and a half years. Silence was the best policy in the eyes of the corporation. The term again is two-and-half years; Count 7: Philip Dehany, not guilty to stalking to cause alarm and distress but guilty to simple stalking - Belfield received a consecutive sentence of 13 weeks. Both question why the corporation only really took the abuse seriously once a well-known man Vine was involved. He is being sued for libel by Vine, as well as by the Nottinghamshire police detective in charge of the case against him, and when ordered to pay Vines initial costs of 26,000 after failing to file a defence on time, paid up, in October 2021, within a few days. Instantly disprovable lies published by Ben Hewis. A security company had also been brought in to collect him from the radio station's car park, Mr Keith said. Yet, he remains unstable and on air at the BBC. Thats a word I have never heard We four were left to suffer and are suffering still, she says. But when Aubrey caught Covid, Vine opted to be questioned by Belfield rather than delay a long-booked holiday, and found himself being asked about the true meaning of the word cunt. "The Crown makes no submission that the overall sentence was, given the new knowledge of the legal position, inappropriate or unduly lenient," said Mr Justice Saini at Leicester Crown Court. Find Alex Belfield of CelebrityRadio.biz's articles, email address, contact information, Twitter and more. Alex performed 56 shows in 2012, 48 shows in 2013, 52 shows in 2014 & 54 shows in 2015.. With up to 3 or 4 shows a day - this years mammoth tour was his biggest production yet! He realised what he could do and did it with impunity. The judge explained he did not question the verdicts of the jurors, but was applying the civil standard of proof when making the restraining orders. His trial heard he made YouTube videos about them, posted messages on social media, sent emails, and also encouraged his followers to target them. You have got these proclamations of hate coming out and that it will never end.'. He presents a YouTube channel called Voice of Reason, which has over 361,000 subscribers. The judge told Belfield he will serve up to half of his sentence in prison and the remainder on licence. News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. Ben Hewis intended to destroy my life, reputation and career. However, he has also been charged with stalking Bernie Keith and videographer Ben Hewis. To those who had been monitoring Belfields output for the past few years, it was no surprise that he wanted the final word. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. As well as jailing Belfield, Mr Justice Saini issued indefinite restraining orders banning the DJ from contacting his victims. . Since 2012 Belfield has focused on presenting and producing content for his website Celebrity Radio. Recommended Ex-BBC DJ guilty of stalking Jeremy Vine during 'vile' hate campaign "From his very first email and in the majority of communications thereafter, he used my wife and children as his main weapon to terrify, intimidate and blackmail me," he wrote. The respondent has carried out acts associated with stalking; The respondent poses a risk of stalking to a person; and, There is reasonable cause to believe the proposed order is necessary to protect the other person from that risk. Barring a successful appeal, Belfield will serve at least the next two years and 39 weeks in jail, before being released on licence to serve the second half of his sentence. (The person to be protected does not have to have been the victim of the acts mentioned above. Philip Dehany, a rival theatre blogger, who was targeted by Belfield in YouTube videos. His voice breaking with emotion, Mr Keith added: 'That removes the hope from my life that I will ever be free of this man. We were the learning curve for Belfield. Do not sell or share my personal information. Despite later coming out as a member of the LGBT community when defending himself against allegations of homophobia in his trial, Belfield attempted to project an image of rampant heterosexuality for much of his life, with frequent references to breasticles and the current or future Mrs Belfield. READ MORE: The cinemas in Northamptonshire showing the Queen's funeral on Monday for free, Jurors accepted Belfield caused serious alarm or distress to two victims and found him guilty of simple stalking in relation to Channel 5 and BBC Radio 2 presenter Mr Vine and theatre blogger Philip Dehany. The judge said Belfield had made "wholly false" allegations about Mr Vine stealing 1,000 of BBC licence payers' money, in a video which was viewed by more than 400,000 people. He was convicted Friday, August 5, 2022, on four counts of stalking. "Throughout this trial, victims and other witnesses have given evidence with dignity and I would like to thank them for their willingness to give evidence. The verdicts in relation to each complainant were: Giving evidence to the trial, Mr Vine described Belfield's behaviour as "like an avalanche of hatred you get hit by", and "absolutely Olympic-level stalking, even for broadcasting". A few months in, alarm bells started to ring, remembers Liz Green, who presented the lunchtime show that followed Belfields each day. One of the BBC targets was Bernie Keith, a veteran presenter at BBC Radio Northampton who was once Belfields friend. I think the jury thought: Oh, it cant have been that bad. She says Belfield has destroyed her mental health, and that she was so frightened that he or his followers would turn up at her house, she spent 20,000 on security measures. 2023 BBC. Our fears and anxiety were downplayed. Helen Thomas, now director of BBC England, told the jury that she was told to man up by a BBC boss when she complained about Belfields behaviour. All of the people who liked and re-tweeted Hewis libel will be called as witnesses. Bernie Keith, who presents mid-morning shows and a weekly rock'n'roll programme on BBC Radio Northampton, said former BBC Radio Leeds DJ Alex Belfield had subjected him to "naked" hatred . Read about our approach to external linking. The fact we were left unsupported from the acts of someone regarded as a prolific, now convicted, stalker is problematic. Speaking after the verdicts, Sheryl Monk from the Crown Prosecution Service said: "Stalking is a very serious crime that has a severe impact on its victims. He warned him he could then be recalled to prison if he commits a further offence. In August Belfield, of Mapperley, was convicted of stalking to cause alarm and distress to BBC Radio Northampton's Bernie Keith, and guilty of the same charge concerning videographer Ben Hewis. They were exonerated. 'On Saturday nights I wasn't allowed to be in the (BBC Radio Northampton) building on my own. He did so after the prosecution told him the maximum sentence for this offence was five years, but the maximum sentence is actually 10 years. The 42-year-old, from Nottingham, is due to be sentenced on 16 September and has been warned he could be jailed. He would harass some theatre companies, to the extent that his email address was blocked, and front of house staff were warned about him., Belfield had a complicated relationship with the entertainment industry, the director believes. Judge Saini jailed Belfield for five years and 26 weeks, accusing him of having weaponised the internet to haunt his targets.

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