Man who sent 'we're after you' note to Rishi Sunak pictured as he walks free from court

A man who sent a threatening letter to Rishi Sunak has been pictured for the first time.

Stephen Burke, walked free from Westminster Magistrates' Court today after receiving an 18-month community order having previously pleading guilty to sending an offensive letter to the former Prime Minister.

Burke, 67, of Clacton in Essex, sent a note which included racial slurs and warned Mr Sunak's family to "watch your backs".

The letter, sent on November 11, 2022, also said: "We're after you" and "We've had enough".

Sundeep Pankhania, defending, previously said Burke wrote the letter while "in drink" and it was never read by Mr Sunak because it was intercepted by a security officer.

"[Burke] was clouded by the severe depression that he was suffering at the time," Mr Pankhania told the court.

"[The letter] could have caused substantial distress... but certainly didn't cause any major disruption," he added.

According to the charge, Burke, who is 67, sent a letter "which conveyed a message which was indecent or grossly offensive for the purpose of causing distress or anxiety to the recipient or to any other person to whom you intended that it or its contents or nature should be communicated".

A judge previously told Burke he was "not ruling out" a custodial sentence.