Police in the UK have dropped a case against a prominent anti-poverty campaigner and councillor after his fingerprints were found on a hate letter, a development that allegedly occurred up to 12 months before he began a wider campaign of harassment. Gerard Woodhouse, 63, was previously given a community order for harassing ex-Lord Mayor Christine Banks with anonymous letters and cards between 2023 and 2025.
The investigation into an earlier letter, sent to a former housing association boss, yielded fingerprint evidence. However, according to BBC News, the inquiry was halted because officers were unable to contact the alleged victim after she left her job. The Crown Prosecution Service stated that this earlier incident could have been considered harassment, a summary-only offense with a six-month statute of limitations that would have expired in June 2022.
Despite reopening the investigation in February, police have now closed the case because the time limit for prosecuting harassment allegations has passed. Woodhouse was arrested and questioned, but the focus shifted to malicious communications, as this offense does not carry a statute of limitations. However, the police determined the letters, while offensive, did not exceed the bounds of what is considered tolerable in society.
Julie Fadden, the former housing association boss who received the earlier letter, expressed disappointment. She stated that police had her phone number and could have contacted her when she left her job. Fadden believes that if Woodhouse had been prosecuted for the earlier incident, his subsequent harassment campaign against Banks and potentially other victims might have been prevented. She acknowledged the challenges police face with limited resources but stressed the missed opportunity to address the issue years prior.