Clifford Wilby, 63, from east London, was found guilty on [date] of using threatening, abusive, or insulting words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm, or distress, after an incident on a Victoria Line train in July 2025. The verdict was delivered by Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram at Westminster Magistrates Court. Wilby, who also filmed the MP on his mobile phone, will be sentenced on 8 September.
Incident on the Victoria Line
The court heard that Wilby saw Stella Creasy, the Labour MP for Walthamstow, on a Victoria Line train on 15 July 2025. He blocked her from leaving the carriage, began talking to her about knife crime and her “failings as a member of parliament,” and then filmed her on his phone. Other passengers intervened, stepping between them before Creasy exited the carriage.
Prosecutor Sarah Madden said the pair first met during a Zoom meeting in 2024, when Creasy was acting in her capacity as an MP. That meeting was terminated due to Wilby’s behaviour.
Evidence from the MP
Creasy, giving evidence from behind a screen, described the earlier online meeting. She said Wilby “made a series of very serious allegations,” became abusive, and “referred to the fact he had been diagnosed as a psychopath.” When he started to complain about a constituent, Creasy reminded him she could not discuss someone else’s case. He became “abusive, aggressive,” and the conversation was ended.
On the train, Creasy said she boarded intending to move further down at the next stop. She made eye contact with Wilby, who asked, “Are you Stella Creasy?” She recognised him and confirmed his identity. “He stood up and blocked my ability to leave the carriage, he began talking to me about his concerns about my constituent, he was shouting although the tube train is a loud environment,” she said.
Creasy added: “Obviously I was concerned that I was in an enclosed space with him. He was very close. I stated very clearly this wasn’t an appropriate conversation to be having.” She said she was backed up against the door, holding her hands out as a gesture “to say stop.” She eventually got off at Finsbury Park by exiting through another door further up the carriage.
Defence and verdict
In defence, Tess McCarthy suggested Creasy could have left the train earlier, but Creasy replied “no.” Wilby claimed he had hoped to continue the conversation about the constituent but that the MP “became quite agitated” and he was “quite shocked by her reaction,” so he pressed record on his phone “for my safety.” He denied standing in front of her, saying she was already getting off when she turned to speak to him, and he stood up because of the noise. He also denied telling Creasy in 2024 that he had been diagnosed as a psychopath.
The court found Wilby guilty, and sentencing was adjourned for reports. The case highlights the ongoing issue of harassment faced by public figures in their daily lives.
