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After three days of intimidation and threats against Byline Times writer Mike Stuchbery, the Government agrees that YouTube must take action against Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.
The Culture Minister has said he hopes YouTube will “reconsider their judgement” in continuing to allow Stephen Yaxley-Lennon to use the platform to intimidate journalists.
In a post on the platform yesterday, the far-right activist warned journalists “every one of you, expect a knock on the door”. The broadcast follows three days of threats and intimidation outside the house of writer Mike Stuchbery.
Addressing Culture, Media and
“Late on Monday night, Yaxley-Lennon turned up at a journalist’s home, banging on the doors and windows, demanding to be let in and, after being escorted away by the police, he returned at
Replying, Mr Wright said: “I hope that YouTube will consider this very carefully and consider what he has said, what I have said and reconsider their judgement.”
A Timeline of Intimidation
Speaking to the Byline Times this morning, Mike Stuchbery said: “The last few days have been challenging on a number of levels for both my wife and me. In addition to Robinson’s visit, we have been deluged by both defamatory abuse and threats of violence across social media.”
He said he had been followed in public, that others had turned up at his house to intimidate the couple and that attempts had been made to access their social media and other online accounts. But, the defiant writer said he refused to be silenced and that he would continue to write about the far-right.
Here is a timeline of events as they unfolded:
Sunday, 3 March: A legal letter is delivered to the home of Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, as part of a campaign Mike Stuchbery has been involved with in crowdfunding and publicising the case of defamation against a teenage Muslim boy by Yaxley-Lennon. The letter is handed to police by YouTuber Dick Coughlan some distance from his home.
Monday, 4 March, 10.45pm: Mike Stuchbery is awoken by a sharp banging on the windows and doors of his house. He finds Yaxley-Lennon outside, demanding to speak with him. He tells viewers on
Tuesday, 5 March, 5.10am: Knocking, banging and defamatory yelling begins again. It goes on for 10 minutes before Yaxley-Lennon announces he is going to the
Tuesday. 5 March pm: Mike Stuchbery speaks to a BBC film crew. During filming, he spots a man who returns to his car, retrieves a camera and starts taking photographs, which were subsequently put online. When he returns home, he finds the following note wedged into his door:
Tuesday, 5 March, evening: A Facebook video emerges showing a woman approaching Mike Stuchbery’s house and claiming to have put the note there with the threat that people would return. Yaxley-Lennon makes another Facebook video, claiming a conspiracy and that Stuchbery has made threats against his children.
Wednesday, 8 March: Mike Stuchbery receives threats via Facebook and YouTube and more than 40 calls on his personal phone over the course of the day. One of the calls is from James Goddard, a right-wing ‘yellow vests’ activist who was arrested in January for public order offences after journalists, Remain campaigners and MPs were verbally abused outside of Parliament. The following letter then arrives, addressed to ‘Dirty Mike Stuchbery’: