A prisoner once branded "extremely dangerous" by a judge used an official telephone inside HMP Wakefield to threaten three female MPs with kidnap, rape and murder, Leeds Crown Court heard.
Neil Preece-Smith, 41, exploited a security loophole to repeatedly dial the House of Commons switchboard from his maximum-security wing, making more than 30 calls in just two days. Labour MP Nadia Whittome, former Conservative MP Lucy Frazer and Liberal Democrat MP Christine Jardine were all targeted. A female parliamentary switchboard operator was also subjected to repeated threats of sexual violence, abduction and murder.
Preece-Smith, an arsonist serving a life sentence since 2007, was this week handed an additional seven-year sentence and barred from contacting MPs. The calls were made from HMP Wakefield, the Category A prison known as "Monster Mansion" because of the notorious criminals held there. Prisoners can use authorised landlines to call approved family and friends, and are entitled to confidential conversations with the MP representing the constituency where their prison is located.
Preece-Smith entered a PIN number to dial the central House of Commons switchboard before asking to be connected to politicians' offices, then left explicit messages threatening to sexually assault, kidnap and kill female politicians.
Threats naming Jill Dando
In one voicemail left for then culture secretary Lucy Frazer, Preece-Smith said she could not get away from him and that he was going to do to her what happened to Jill Dando. He claimed he had been watching her and said he had people monitoring her from inside the Houses of Parliament. Dando, the BBC Crimewatch presenter, was shot dead on the doorstep of her Fulham home in 1999.
The message, picked up by Frazer's parliamentary assistant, described in graphic detail how Preece-Smith intended to break into her home, tie her to a bed and assault her.
Whittome and Jardine targeted
Staff working for Nottingham East MP Nadia Whittome were left fearing for her safety after Preece-Smith claimed he had information about a plot to attack her, and even named the supposed assailant during the call.
Liberal Democrat MP Christine Jardine, Edinburgh West's representative, received a voicemail in which Preece-Smith threatened to rape her and claimed he knew where she lived. He also alleged he had met her twice and kept a photograph of her on his wall. Jardine, who was then her party's women and equalities spokeswoman, described the message as alarming and disturbing. An aide who first heard it had to switch it off after only a few seconds because it was so distressing.
The court heard Preece-Smith also turned his abuse on parliamentary switchboard operator Monique Cormode, subjecting her to threats of explicit sexual abuse, kidnap and murder after she was asked to put him through to MPs, including Sir Keir Starmer.
Calls made in November 2024
The barrage took place in November 2024 while Preece-Smith was held at HMP Wakefield. Phones installed in cells on his wing could be accessed using prisoners' personal identification numbers. Calls were logged and could be monitored, except for confidential calls to organisations including the Samaritans. Preece-Smith admitted sending messages conveying a threat of death or serious harm.
Judge cites Jo Cox and David Amess
Passing sentence, Judge Richard Mansell, KC, said the offences were particularly grave, involving the targeting of female MPs with threats to kidnap, rape or kill them. He said that in light of the murders of MP Jo Cox in 2016 and Sir David Amess in 2022, threats of this nature to serving MPs must be met with significant sentences of imprisonment to deter others. He said those who put themselves forward for public office knew they must face the risk of abuse, whether online or in person, but none should have to put up with this kind of vile threats. He added that Monique Cormode was simply performing a public service answering the phones and was subjected to repeated calls over two days with horrible threats to kidnap, rape and kill her.
Preece-Smith observed proceedings on a laptop held up to the window of his cell in segregation at HMP Full Sutton near York, where the court heard he was carrying out an ongoing "dirty protest". Defending himself, he admitted making the calls but said he was under the influence of the psychoactive drug Spice at the time, which he said probably clouded his judgement, though he acknowledged it did not excuse making the calls.
Extensive criminal history
Preece-Smith has amassed 54 convictions across 22 separate court appearances and has an extensive history of violence and threats behind bars. First convicted as a teenager in 1995, he went on to commit offences including assault, robbery, arson and affray. In March 2006 he was given a life sentence at Leeds Crown Court for setting fire to an ex-offenders' hostel, intending to kill people staying there, with the sentencing judge branding him "extremely dangerous".
The following year he received a ten-year sentence for aiding and abetting the suicide of his cellmate, Michael Clegg, at HMP Leeds. At a later inquest he claimed he had actually murdered the 48-year-old remand prisoner, describing how he tied Clegg's ankles and hands with the victim's shoelaces while threatening him with a makeshift knife, made cuts on his lower back and buttocks to frighten him, then gave him the choice of hanging himself or being killed. He told the inquest he helped Clegg onto the pipes and pulled down on his legs until he was dead, then waited half an hour before pressing the cell bell. Preece-Smith told the jury he pleaded guilty only to aiding and abetting suicide because he did not want to get done for a serious charge. He was never charged with Clegg's murder after the Crown Prosecution Service concluded there was insufficient evidence.
Preece-Smith returned to headlines in 2016 after admitting he planned to attack child killer Roy Whiting using sharpened toothbrushes. Whiting, now 67, is serving a life sentence for abducting and murdering eight-year-old Sarah Payne in July 2000.
In 2017, Preece-Smith made a series of bomb hoax calls claiming explosives had been left outside railway stations and in the car park at HMP Wakefield. He received further sentences for bomb hoaxes and threats in 2020 and in August 2024. His previous offences also involved misuse of prison telephones, including using a call to the Samaritans to make bomb threats, asking a female operator about her underwear, and threatening attacks on named prison officers unless an inmate was moved from segregation. In 2024 he falsely claimed a bomb had been planted in the HMP Wakefield car park.
Preece-Smith has been refused parole six times and is now held under strict close-supervision conditions at HMP Full Sutton. Alongside the additional seven-year sentence, he was banned from approaching or contacting any MP, with the only exception allowing him to communicate with his constituency MP through a solicitor.
