Politicians at loggerheads in harassment case as Portsmouth magistrates reach verdict

Two former politicians in a bitter feud have appeared in court to hash out a dispute in front of magistrates.

Lewes Price, 62 formerly of Waterlooville but now staying at Priory Hospital in Marchwood Park, Southampton, was accused of harassing Paulette Bennett between March and June 2024.

The two were both councillors for Newlands Parish Council at the time. Ms Bennett was also the chairwoman of Newlands Community Group.

After being suspended from a Facebook page for the community group, and a complaint being filed to the parish council’s monitoring officer, Price sent Ms Bennett a pre-action protocol, threatening legal action, the court heard.

This was accompanied by further emails suggesting that matters could be settled out of court, so long as she resigned from the parish council. Price also suggested that if it went to court, those concerned could “lose their homes” as a result. Ms Bennett was not the one who filed a complaint.

At Portsmouth Magistrates Court, after Price was deemed borderline fit to plead in a psychiatric report, a trial began this morning (Tuesday, April 14).

Oliver Rolfe, prosecuting, said: “Ms Bennett appears to have become the main target for the defendant.

“The emails themselves aren’t disputed, it’s just whether or not it adds up to harassment.”

Giving evidence in court, Ms Bennett said: “He was very open, had views that he made very clear - some of those I found derogatory and offensive.

“I was disgusted. It was just such an overkill to a 28-day ban on Facebook.

“Mentally, it was stressful; he was threatening things over something so inconsequential.”

Defending Price, Mark Kessler argued that correspondence from the defendant did not constitute harassment, even if it was a “pain” to deal with.

He said: “It might have been that you were the first point of contact. I think you [Ms Bennett] found him a pain.

“You regard it as a form of harassment. Let’s agree to disagree.”

Giving evidence, Price said: “Because she was the chairwoman of the group, I was hoping she could look into it. I accept the fact [that I was suspended].

“She made a comment at one of the parish council meetings and made some accusations about some other councillors.

“Because of my comments on diversity she called me a right-wing councillor, and wanted to get rid of me.

“Initially I was going to take legal action, but another councillor advised me not to.

“These messages were a response to things that had been brought up. There was a reason behind every single one.

“There are things happening in council meetings that aren’t mentioned. You have only got one side of the story, you don’t have all the facts.”

Price denied sending the letters and emails to try and harass Ms Bennett, maintaining that his emails and letters did not come across as threatening.

After deliberating for roughly 30 minutes, a trio of magistrates ruled that Price’s actions did in fact constitute harassment, but that due to ongoing mental health conditions he cannot be convicted.