Wallis, 41, of Butetown in Cardiff, was sentenced at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court to a 12-month community order with 12 days of rehabilitation activity. She was fined £500 and ordered to pay £650 in costs and a £114 surcharge. A restraining order lasting 12 months was also imposed to prevent contact with Lovell.
Wallis—who served as Bridgend’s MP from 2019 to 2024 and became the UK’s first openly transgender MP in 2022—was previously known as Jamie Wallis. Her barrister confirmed she uses she/her pronouns, and that Jamie is her deadname.
She pleaded guilty last month to sending Lovell four messages and a voice note between 14 February and 21 March. The communications included abusive language, demands for money, and attempts to uncover details about Lovell’s new relationship. One message insisted that £350,000 be transferred within 15 minutes, while another said she hoped Lovell and her father “never have a happy moment again”. Wallis was found by police shortly after sending the final message, sectioned under the Mental Health Act, and later charged.
Lovell, who was in a relationship with Wallis for more than 15 years before separating in 2020 and finalising their divorce in 2024, said the harassment had a devastating impact. In a victim statement read in court, she described feeling unsafe, installing CCTV at her home, and experiencing “daily chaos” triggered by the messages.
“The woman I used to be is destroyed,” she said. “I torture myself wondering if I deserve the vile slurs.”
Defending, Narita Bahra KC said Wallis was suffering from PTSD, depression, and an adjustment disorder, and described her client’s emotional distress while transitioning. Bahra also criticised South Wales Police and the Crown Prosecution Service for pursuing the case through the courts, arguing it could have been resolved without prosecution. Nonetheless, she acknowledged Wallis’s behaviour was wrong and said her client was remorseful.
District Judge Rhys Williams said the messages were “distressing and unwanted” and that the restraining order was necessary to protect the victim. Wallis appeared in court wearing a black dress and looked down as Lovell’s statement was read.
