Stalker that met Emily Maitlis at Cambridge university 25 years ago admits breach restraining order

Ex-Cambridge student who was jailed after stalking Emily Maitlis for 25 years admits breaching restraining order by writing to her mother from prison

  • Edward Vines, 49, met Ms Maitlis, also 49, at Cambridge in the mid-1990s 
  • He had restraining order imposed on him in 2009 after harassing BBC presenter
  • Denied breaching it last year but then sent another letter to her on October 6 
  • Vines will be remanded in custody ahead of sentencing on February 3  

A prisoner jailed for stalking BBC presenter Emily Maitlis for more than 25 years has admitted trying to send her mother a letter twice.

Last year Edward Vines, 49, pleaded not guilty to breaching a restraining order imposed on him for harassing the Newsnight presenter, also 49, in 2009. 

But after denying sending her mother the letter in court in September, he sent another letter to Marion Maitlis on October 6. 

He today admitted sending both letters via videolink at Nottingham Crown Court and will be remanded in custody ahead of sentencing on February 3.    

Vines was jailed for 45 months on January 18 2018, for continuing to breach his restraining order by writing to Ms Maitlis from prison and his bail hostel.

He met and briefly became friends with the Newsnight presenter when they were both students at Cambridge University in the mid-1990s.

Pictured: BBC Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis

Edward Vines, 49, a prisoner jailed for stalking BBC presenter Emily Maitlis for more than 25 years, has admitted trying to send her mother a letter twice

In 2018, Ms Maitlis said Vines’s unwanted attention was upsetting her husband, scaring her children and affecting her work.

She interviewed Prince Andrew in November last year, which led to Andrew stepping back from official public duties for the foreseeable future after criticism for his unsympathetic tone and lack of remorse about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.

Wearing a grey sweatshirt and spectacles as he appeared in court via video link from HMP Nottingham, Vines pleaded guilty to attempting to breach a restraining order between May 7 and May 16 last year, and again on October 6 by sending a letter to Marion Maitlis to pass on to the journalist.

The defendant was due to face a two-day trial next month before entering the guilty pleas.

Emily Maitliss and husband Mark Gwynne

In 2018, Ms Maitlis said Vines’s unwanted attention was upsetting her husband (Mark Gwynne, pictured with her), scaring her children and affecting her work 

In the previous hearing, where Vines represented himself, he even inquired whether he would be able to call Ms Maitlis as a witness in his trial.

At his sentencing hearing in 2018, Judge Peter Ross demanded written explanations from both the probation service and the governor at HMP Bullingdon in Oxfordshire as to how Vines was able to continue offending, describing it as a ‘scandal’.

On Thursday, Judge Stuart Rafferty QC said it was ‘not clear to the court what his present mental state is’ as he adjourned Vines’s sentencing hearing.

The judge added that ‘one of the things the court has got to consider is the risk of re-offending’. 

Ms Maitlis (left) interviewed Prince Andrew (right) in November last year, which led to Andrew stepping back from official public duties for the foreseeable future after criticism for his unsympathetic tone and lack of remorse about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein

Ms Maitlis (left) interviewed Prince Andrew (right) in November last year, which led to Andrew stepping back from official public duties for the foreseeable future after criticism for his unsympathetic tone and lack of remorse about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein

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