Essex man who wrote ‘disgustingly racist’ letter to Rishi Sunak and his wife spared jail

A man who told Rishi Sunak he and his family "better watch your backs" in a "disgustingly racist" letter has been spared jail.

Stephen Burke, 68, from Clacton, Essex, sent the letter to the then-prime minister on 9 November 2022, calling Mr Sunak and his wife racial slurs and adding "we're after you".

On Tuesday, Burke was sentenced at Westminster Magistrates' Court after pleading guilty to sending a letter conveying an indecent or offensive message.

District judge Paul Goldspring told Burke his offence came close to crossing the custodial threshold and said: “The real gravitas was the disgusting racial undertone of it.”

Referring to Burke’s frequent use of the racist slur “p***” throughout the letter, Judge Goldspring said: “It’s abhorrent. The word itself is abhorrent, the reason to use the word is abhorrent, and the whole process you went through sending this letter is abhorrent.

“There are many ways to say that you are not happy with the way someone is running the country that does not require you being racist or xenophobic.”

Burke's letter was intercepted at 10 Downing Street before it could be put in front of the PM, said prosecutor Andrew Moss. It was littered with racial slurs.

Burke also called Mr Sunak’s wife Akshata Murty a “filthy rich, non-tax-paying s**g wife”.

Sandeep Pankhania, mitigating, said Burke wrote the letter after he became addicted to alcohol and lost his job as a result.

“He is sorry and you will have read in the pre-sentence report that his remorse and contrition are genuine,” Mr Pankhania told the judge.

Burke, of Edith Road in Clacton-on-Sea, was sentenced to an 18-month community order and 150 hours of unpaid work.

He was also made subject to GPS monitoring for six months and ordered to pay £199 in costs and surcharge.

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