Man who admitted threatening to kill his MP applies to change guilty plea A man who admitted threatening to kill his MP – saying he wanted to lock him in a building and set fire to it – has said he wants to change his guilty plea.
Benjamin Clarke, 31, appeared at Durham Crown Court where he was due to be sentenced for making threats to kill Bishop Auckland Labour MP Sam Rushworth, and a malicious communications offence, having admitted the charges last month.
The following month, Clarke told two mental health practitioners that he wanted to find the MP and smash his head off a pavement, to set fire to a building he was in and then “lock all the doors so I could hear him screaming”, the court heard last month.
At a previous hearing at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court, it was said that Clarke contacted his MP in August on social media, saying: “I cannot wait for your next public appearance, you will be lucky to leave it in one piece.”.
His barrister Chris Baker said Clarke wanted to vacate those pleas and Recorder Mark Giuliani adjourned the case until next month.
