Man Accused of Stalking Jess Phillips Pleads Not Guilty

A man has appeared in court accused of stalking and harassing Jess Phillips, the minister in charge of tackling violence against women and girls. Lee Owens, 47, pleaded not guilty to an offence of stalking the Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley, at Cheltenham magistrates court on Tuesday. The indictment, read to the court, said that between 10 July and 14 July last year he sent an "excessive volume of aggressive and threatening and obsessive emails". The emails caused Phillips serious alarm or distress, which had a "substantial adverse" effect on her day-to-day activities, the indictment said. Anton Doyle, prosecuting, said Owens sent Phillips 94 emails, including content concerning the grooming gang scandal. He told the court Phillips had been unable to carry out her ministerial duties because of the alleged offences, which caused difficulties for her family life. Owens, from Gloucester, had previously denied a charge of harassment by sending Phillips 31 emails between 22 January and 25 January last year. He elected to have his case heard at Gloucester crown court and will next appear there on 19 May. Owens was released on bail on condition that he not contact Phillips directly or indirectly. Phillips, known for her work promoting women's rights, entered parliament as an MP at the 2015 general election. Before then, she worked for Women's Aid in the West Midlands, developing services for victims of domestic abuse, sexual violence, human trafficking and exploitation. She was appointed parliamentary under-secretary of state in the Home Office in July 2024 with responsibility for safeguarding and violence against women and girls.