Ex-councillor behind hate mail campaign sentenced

A former Liverpool councillor has been sentenced after being convicted of a two-year harassment campaign against a former party colleague.

Gerard Woodhouse, 63, sent up to 100 anonymous cards and letters to 75-year-old Christine Banks, whom he had known for 50 years and served as a Labour councillor alongside for 12 years.

Woodhouse appeared at Liverpool Magistrates' Court for sentencing earlier. His solicitor, Kevin Kelly, said he had severe mental health problems at the time of the offences, between 2023 and 2025.

District Judge James Clarke said his crimes had been "persistent, wicked and abusive", and sentenced him to a community order and restraining order not to contact Mrs Banks.

The court heard Woodhouse had begun to target Mrs Banks after they fell out over his conduct at a food bank he operated, and some issues on the licensing committee on which they both sat.

She said she had had to hide the letters and cards from her close-knit family, particularly her ill husband and her grandchildren, whom she feared would open them thinking they were birthday cards.

The letters and cards included foul language and abuse directed at Mrs Banks. Some contained deeply upsetting references to her late daughter's death.

After a time, she stopped opening them and sent them to Merseyside Police.

This summer, detectives had a breakthrough when they discovered forensic evidence linking them to Woodhouse, who had previous convictions for false benefit claims and assault from about 20 years ago.

Mr Kelly told the court: "You may wonder how a man who was highly respected in this community and dedicated to helping people out of poverty could have fallen so low."

Mr Kelly said Woodhouse had severe mental health problems and had perceived there were factions in the Labour Party and that he was himself being victimised.

Judge Clarke said Woodhouse's crimes were aggravated by the fact he had targeted a public figure over a long period of time.

But he said he deserved credit for his guilty plea, and had been seeking help for his mental health problems.

Woodhouse, of Mayfield Close in Anfield, was given a community order for 18 months and was made subject of an indefinite restraining order, banning him from phoning or emailing Mrs Banks, or sending her any more letters or cards.

The court had heard that when Mrs Banks told Labour Party chiefs about what had been happening, she found out other people in the party had been targeted.

Ahead of Woodhouse's sentencing, a BBC North West investigation heard from three former party members who said they too had received abusive letters in the post, and believed Woodhouse to have been responsible.

Walking out from court, he declined to answer questions about whether he was behind a wider campaign of abuse.

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