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Letter writer threatened to 'knife' Treasury Minister's wife

Wed, 23 Mar 2016

"Leave government or I knife your wife" - that was just one of the threats made towards the Treasury Minister by the author of a poison pen letter.

62-year-old John Corran also warned Eddie Teare to "watch his house", threatened arson and told him "I will be in my car looking for you".

At Douglas Courthouse yesterday the Douglas man admitted penning and sending two letters between November 2014 and December 2015 - his conduct, he accepted, caused fear of violence.

The court heard Mr Teare had to make stringent security changes at his home after receiving the hate mail including having CCTV and security lighting fitted and extra locks installed.

Corran was caught when police matched his DNA to the profile recovered from the envelopes - he told police he sent the letters in a bid to "put the frighteners" on the MHK.

This, he said, was due to his unhappiness with the Minister's plans to cut benefits in a bid to encourage people back into work - Corran himself in receipt of government hand-outs.

Psychiatric and social enquiry reports have been requested before Corran is sentenced on May 10th - he's been bailed in the meantime.

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