Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis’ stalker admits breaching restraining order after sending letters to her mum

NEWSNIGHT presenter Emily Maitlis’ stalker has admitted breaching a restraining order.

Edward Vines, 49 — serving a 45-month jail term for the same offence — sent a letter to the journalist’s mother last May to pass on to her.

In September Vines denied sending it and breaching the order, imposed on him in 2009 for harassing Maitlis.

But in October, Vines wrote another letter.

In the letters he repeatedly referred to murdered TV presenter Jill Dando.

Crimewatch host Jill, 37, was shot once in the head outside her flat in West London in April 1999.

He appeared via video-link at Nottingham crown court where he admitted sending both.

He will be sentenced on February 3.

'SCARING MY FAMILY'

Vines met and briefly became friends with the BBC’s Maitlis, 49, when both were at Cambridge University in the 1990s.

He was first convicted of harassing her in 2002.

She has said his unwanted attention was scaring her family and affecting her work.

In a victim impact statement read to the court in 2016, Ms Maitlis, who was not present, said: "When I heard that Edward Vines had breached his restraining order I felt scared and let down.

"Scared because it meant that even from within the prison system the perpetrator was able to reach me - let down because the system had been unable to stop him getting in touch even though the crime he is serving time for is harassment through unwanted and ongoing contact.

"It has affected my relationship with my husband who is frustrated that we cannot get to the bottom of this problem even though we have been tackling it through the Crown Prosecution Service and the courts for over 20 years and it has scared my children who thought the threat had gone away - albeit temporarily whilst he was behind bars.

"It has affected my ability to do my work - I am constantly thinking of where I am being sent and whether he will be attempting to track me down.

"And it affects every day decisions like how I leave the house and how I get to work, what time I feel able to come home at night, I work late nights often.

"It also makes me jumpy around strangers for no reason as I fear any advance might be him."

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