Key facts
- Journalist Lydia Suffield, 29, was spared jail for stalking former chancellor George Osborne and his wife Thea Rogers.
- Suffield sent false allegations about the couple to their friends and family via anonymous emails.
- She also made eight anonymous false referrals to the NSPCC, leading to investigations into drug abuse and neglect of the couple's children.
- Suffield sent gifts for the couple's children and made allegations to guests before their wedding.
- George Osborne described the harassment as 'utterly debilitating' and a 'campaign to ruin our lives'.
- Thea Rogers stated the stalking 'completely ruined well over a year of my life'.
Journalist Lydia Suffield, 29, has been spared jail after a stalking campaign against former chancellor George Osborne and his wife Thea Rogers. Suffield sent emails containing false allegations about the couple to their friends and family, reported them to social services, and sent gifts for their young children.
Suffield used a number of anonymous email addresses to make the allegations, which prosecutors said involved dozens of emails to the couple’s friends and family. She also filed eight anonymous false referrals about the couple to children’s charity the NSPCC, resulting in them being investigated for drug abuse and neglect of their young children. The incidents occurred between June 2022 and July 2023.
George Osborne described the harassment as "utterly debilitating" and a "campaign to ruin our lives." His wife, Thea Rogers, stated the "malicious" stalking "completely ruined well over a year of my life." She called the gifts sent for their children "creepy" and said she had considered cancelling their wedding.
Suffield's contact began in 2020 with messages to Conservative peer Lord Daniel Finkelstein, a friend of Osborne. After meeting Suffield in April 2022, Lord Finkelstein continued to receive messages from her referencing Osborne. The stalking escalated from the summer of 2022.
Mitigating, Marie Spenwyn said the information Suffield sent was "available publicly," including on the newsletter Popbitch. When Suffield was arrested in October 2023, police seized her electronic devices and notebooks, which revealed "the depth of her obsession with George Osborne," including personal information and fan fiction.
Suffield, who has autism, dyspraxia, and ADHD, had denied two counts of stalking involving serious alarm or distress. She pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a community order and a restraining order.