Kensington Palace Pest Guilty Of Harassing Royal Household

Pest: Jack Oliver Lyons

The granddaughter of Princess Alexandria and Royal Household staff at Kensington Palace were harassed on their personal social media by a pest, obsessed with contacting the Duke of Gloucester, a court heard.

Zenouska Mowatt, 34, the childhood friend of Princess Eugenie, who is 59th in line to the throne, gave evidence at City of London Magistrates’ Court, along with the other victims.

Jobless Jack Oliver Lyons, 31, was convicted of harassing her and former Army officer Alastair Todd, Chief of Staff and principal advisor to the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.

He was also convicted of harassing Mr Todd’s PA Chelsea Pearce and Royal Household programme co-ordinator Jemima Hobbs.

District Judge Michael Snow found Lyons guilty of harassing Ms Mowatt - the great-great-granddaughter of King George V - between January 28, 2023 and May 9, last year.

She received three Instagram messages from Lyons in 2023. “She described that they unnerved her and she found them unsettling,” announced the judge.

“After unblocking him he was again following her within a day and she found that particularly unsettling.”

There was further Instagram contact on November 19, 2023 and earlier LinkedIn contact in March and April that same year.

Ms Mowatt told the trial: “I was unnerved and upset.”

“She was closely followed online by him and not surprisingly she was unnerved and upset,” added Judge Snow. “The conduct was calculated to achieve that end.”

Ms Mowatt was also contacted on her work email in September, 2023 and again on LinkedIn in May, last year.

Lyons was always polite, but persistent in trying to communicate with the Duke of Gloucester, who he was convinced could assist him with a legal music copyright issue.

The Duke’s private secretary Mr Todd told the court the constant phone calls from Lyons were “very annoying in a busy office” and he was concerned about the effect it was having on his young staff.

L to R: Jemima Hobbs; Alastair Todd; Zenouska Mowatt & Chelsea Pearce

Judge Snow convicted Lyons of harassing Mr Todd between February 13, 2023 and August 28, last year. “I am quite satisfied Mr Todd was alarmed and distressed by the continual contact.”

The first phone call was in January, 2023 and was followed-up by emails and contact via LinkedIn. 

Lyons even personally attended Kensington Palace, claiming he had an appointment with the Duke of Gloucester, HRH Prince Richard.

A total of eleven emails were sent from Lyons’ home and were blocked, resulting in the defendant using a new email address to continue contact.

Eventually an exasperated Mr Todd agreed to personally take a phone call from Lyons. “He told Lyons in no uncertain terms to stop the calls.

“The fact that there was no contact by Lyons after being told to stop is evidence that he was not delusional,” said Judge Snow.

“In fairness Mr Todd did not say he was caused alarm or distress, but found it very annoying. The conduct amounted to criminal conduct and contact continued in breach of his bail conditions.”

Ms Pearce, who attended Wiltshire’s private Stonar School, which has annual boarding fees up to £50,000, told the one-day trial she received two telephone calls from Lyons on April 2, last year, asking to speak to the Duke of Gloucester.

She received calls from two different phone numbers two days later. “The second call was slightly more forceful and aggressive,” she told the trial.

“He made contact via my LinkedIn, Instagram and twitter and also asked the office to be able to speak to Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.

“I was quite alarmed as it is rare someone would call three times in quick succession. It is quite alarming,” added Ms Pearce.

She did not reply to any of Lyons’ messages to her personal social media and dismissed his claim he met her in a Peterborough pub ten years ago, when she was underage anyway.

“I did feel it was an invasion into my personal life. I don’t live behind police-manned gates and I commute into work everyday.

“It is, in my eyes, harassment and very unsettling and I believe it could be potentially threatening with the amount of contact. I am a young woman and this is an older male.”

Ms Hobbs, who attended £57,000 a year private girls’ boarding school Benenden in Kent told the court she received four telephone calls from Lyons, using three different mobile numbers.

“It was quite unsettling because they were different phone numbers and it makes you feel quite uncomfortable.

“I had no idea who this person was and no idea of what he was talking about.”

After the calls to the office in April and May, last year Ms Hobbs was contacted by Lyons via LinkedIn on May 9, claiming he had a “legal emergency” and needed to speak to the Duke of Gloucester ASAP.

“It is very distressing and quite concerning that he has stalked me online, found my surname and gone to the effort to message me.

“It is horrible and not very nice, especially as a young female and not knowing who this person is.”

Lyons has never denied he was the person making contact and was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Royalty and Specialist Protection.

Lyons’ lawyer James Martin submitted the charges should be dismissed. “They are all public-facing media accounts and the whole point of them is to allow people to contact you.

“They are designed to make it easy to contact you.”

The trial heard medical evidence which described Lyons as “educated and intelligent” but unable to properly understand his contact was “legally or morally wrong.”

However, prosecutor Mr Jonathan Bryan said: “He was pushing the boundaries and seeing what he could get away with.

“Mr Todd may have struck you as a stiff upper lip person who would not exaggerate the situation,” the prosecutor told Judge Snow. “He made efforts to block Lyons’ phone.

“Lyons attempted to visit the Duke of Gloucester and all of the other three complainants give evidence that he sought out their social media and tried to contact them.

“The fact that a stranger can contact them is not an invitation to do so and all four witnesses have given evidence of the effect it has had on them, the effect the harassment has had on them.

“They found the calls to the office unsettling and Lyons was someone known in the office as constantly calling beyond annoyance and irritation.

“He knew what he was doing was wrong and used different numbers to call because he knew he should not have been calling in the first place,” added Mr Bryan.”

Mr Martin said there was a less sinister reason his client was utilising different phone numbers. “He is trying to make contact and his number is blocked.

“He is just trying to get around a practical impediment and his behaviour was always polite, but persistent.”

Judge Snow found Lyons harassed Ms Pearce between April 2 and May 9, last year. “These are her personal accounts and it is easy to see why she found this disturbing and alarming.”

The Judge also convicted his of harassing Ms Hobbs between April 15 and May 9, last year. “This is a man who was seeking out individual victims.

“Ms Hobbs said she was concerned she was being stalked. She found that quite horrible and upsetting and I am satisfied she found that alarming and distressing.”

Lyons, who has never worked and relies on family financial support was conditionally discharged for two years and ordered to pay a £26 victim surcharge.

“I have taken an exceptional course,”Judge Snow told Lyons, who did not give evidence in the trial.

He also made him subject to a five-year restraining order, prohibiting contact with the four victims; the office of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester; the Royal Household switchboard and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.

“If you do contact the victims you will be in serious trouble,” Judge Snow told the first-time offender.

Taxi Driver Caught Supplying Cocaine In City Of London

A London black cab driver has admitted supplying cocaine all around the Square Mile.

Exploiting the anonymity of his taxi Michael Redgrave, 57, drove in and around the City of London, collecting and dropping-off the Class A drug.

Investigating officers eventually swooped on his taxi and arrested him outside St. Pancras railway station (pictured).

At Inner London Crown Court Redgrave, of Cornwall Road, Southwark pleaded guilty to the supply of cocaine.

He will be sentenced on a future date.

Between March 1, 2022 and July 5, 2023 he acted as a courier and dealer alongside his legitimate role of taxi driver.

He was arrested on August 3, 2023 after an extensive investigation by the City of London Police’s Serious Organised Crime Team.

Redgrave was arrested as part of a wider operation in connection to the sale of cocaine in the City.

Detective Constable Matt Cooper, of the Serious Organised Crime Team, said: “By using his position as a legitimate cabbie, Redgrave supplied drugs in the City, thinking he would be able to evade police. 

“Our extensive evidence proved vital in his guilty plea.

“The City of London Police’s Serious Organised Crime Team are taking action to disrupt and pursue those involved in the supply of Class A drugs on the streets of London.

“We continue to actively identify, investigate and prosecute all others attempting to do the same.”

Review of mobile phones seized as part of the investigation showed that Redgrave had been making multiple trips in the Square Mile to drop off drugs for clients.

GPS tracking from Redgrave’s taxi showed that his vehicle was at the locations the drug deals took place.

Celebrated Organist's Reputation Ruined After Finally Admitting To Molesting Teenager

A celebrated St. Martin-in-the-Fields organist has finally confessed to molesting a teenage music student a quarter of a century ago.

Paul Stubbings, 55, was Master of Music at the landmark Trafalgar Square church and taught the then 17 year-old, who he regularly invited to his nearby apartment.

On one evening he plied the youngster with gin and tonics, plus red wine before inviting himself into the spare room, where the teen was sleeping overnight and jumped into bed with him.

Stubbings, who has travelled the globe playing organ recitals and whose St. Martin-in-the-Field recordings are still available on CD, received two years imprisonment, suspended for two years.

He pleaded guilty to one count of indecently assaulting the schoolboy at his former Westminster address on December 15, 1999 and was also ordered to complete 300 hours community service, plus twenty-five days of rehabilitation.

Southwark Crown Court heard Stubbings, of Ellington Road, Ramsgate lost his most recent role of ‘Sessional Academic’ at Canterbury Christ Church University on admitting his guilt and is living with his mother in his native North Yorkshire and claiming benefits.

“You ought to be thoroughly ashamed of what you have done,” Judge Christopher Hehir told Stubbings. “Almost every aspect of his life has been affected by what you did.

“His parents say they feel ‘anguish’ that they were unable to protect their son from what you did. There was abuse of trust and use of alcohol to facilitate the offence.”

Prosecutor Nicole Shaw told the court the victim was an ambitious and enthusiastic young musician, who eventually studied at Oxford University.

“He was slowly coming out as gay and was regularly invited by Stubbings to his flat near the church, which he shared with his partner.

“They had dinners and alcohol was always provided and the complainant says it felt like a haven for like-minded individuals.

“On the day of the offence when the complainant was to stay overnight Stubbings’ partner was not there and they had two large gin and tonics and lots of red wine,” explained Ms Shaw.

“They were sitting on the sofa and Stubbings began rubbing his foot against the foot of the complainant, who by now was quite drunk.

“He went to the spare bedroom and this defendant appeared at the door and came in and got into bed with the complainant.”

It was then Stubbings repeatedly kissed the victim and molested him between his legs, flattering him in a mock camp voice.

“This lasted ten to fifteen minutes and the next morning Stubbings seemed ‘sheepish’ says the complainant, who felt the defendant was seeking assurance nothing would be said about it.”

The victim refused future invites to the apartment and reported Stubbings to the senior clergy at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, who gave the defendant the option of resigning or being fired.

He also reported Stubbings to the police, but refused to support a prosecution and the complaint went no further.

The victim sat a few feet from Stubbings throughout the two-hour hearing and went into the witness box to say: “It was impossible at the time to know what a detrimental effect this would have on my life.

“I had a strained relationship with my parents that Paul weaponised.”

The victim enjoyed several meals with Stubbings and his partner. “They filled my head with how gay life functioned and took advantage of my naivety.

“Because of the stories they were spinning me I felt like what happened was a consequence of gay life and I was made to feel like it was my fault.”

Following the indecent assault the victim’s A Levels suffered and he endured a three-month stress-related illness.

“Paul and his friends spread malicious rumours that I lied about the whole thing and the organist community of London turned rank against me.

“My love for music and playing the organ died and when I looked in the mirror all I could see was shadow,” the complainant told the court.

“In my first year of Oxford I was suicidal and almost asked the verger for the keys to the tower to throw myself from and I felt like that three times.”

Describing the last quarter of a century as a time of “pain and suffering” the man, now in his early forties said he came forward again to encourage other potential victims to do the same.

Stubbings’ lawyer Jennifer Dannhauser said: “This is a one-off offence that occurred twenty-five years ago and has not been repeated. 

“This was a one-off serious failure and it is not something he has done before or since.

“His hard work and illustrious career has been affected and he is now on benefits and the pre-sentence report says he is at low risk of serious offending or causing personal harm.”

Judge Hehir told Stubbings: “I am prepared to accept your genuine remorse, but you used your career to commit this offence, although no other complainants were made at the time or since.

“You lost your job, which was hardly surprising and have now lost your most recent job as a result of coming to court.

“I have not found this an easy decision, but it is just appropriate to suspend the sentence.

“This was not an easy decision and you have avoided prison by a hair’s breadth and I hope you reflect on the damage you have done and I repeat my admiration of the victim who has attended today.”

Stubbings will also have to sign the sex offenders register and pay £150 costs.

Banned From Square Mile: Brazen Shoplifter Who Repeatedly Raided M&S

A brazen Marks & Spencer shoplifter, who helped himself to items in front of staff, has been locked-up.

Duane Moss, 42, repeatedly targeted the same High Holborn store in the Square Mile.

This recording of him casually helping himself to stock without paying was widely circulated on the internet.

Moss, of Highbury New Park, Islington pleaded guilty to five counts of theft.

He was also given a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO), banning him from entering the City of London for five years.

Sergeant James Wood, of the Proactive Acquisitive Crime team, said: “This is a reminder to any shoplifter who thinks they can steal from businesses in the City: we will find you and bring you before the courts.

“We will use all our resources in keeping businesses and members of the public safe. 

“Duane Moss had committed these offences with no thought or consideration to anybody he had come across.

“This CBO will act as a deterrent to reoffending. If Moss breaches his CBO, he could face further jail time.”

The Proactive Acquisitive Crime Team focuses on crimes such as theft of bags, phone snatches and shoplifting.

The dedicated team is successfully bringing criminals to justice who prey on those out in the City and proactive arrests are disrupting those involved in serious organised crime.