Firebomb threats menace wins jail cut (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Firebomb threats menace wins jail cut

3:15pm Tuesday 5th February 2008 in News By Newsdesk

An animal rights activist described as a "foot soldier" who was jailed for making threatening phone calls as part of a campaign of intimidation has won a 15-month cut in her prison term.

Judge Jennifer Kershaw QC jailed former bank worker Suzanne Jaggers, 35, for threatening to firebomb vehicles belonging to an animal research facility and leaving menacing messages for its boss.

Jaggers, of Upper Sackville Street, Skipton, was arrested as part of a police investigation, Operation Achilles, targeting animal rights extremism.

She was found guilty at a trial at Bradford Crown Court last November of one charge of blackmail and jailed for two years by Judge Kershaw on Friday.

However, following a review, the judge cut Jaggers' sentence to nine months at a hearing yesterday at Leeds Crown Court.

Judge Kershaw said: "It seems the sentence I imposed was excessive in length and fails to take into account two matters.

"First that this defendant is a first-time offender and secondly this is her first prison sentence."

Jaggers did not appear at court yesterday because she was reported to be unwell. Judge Kershaw referred to a similar case in which a defendant's sentence had been cut, despite taking part in more "significant" levels of criminality.

The judge said she was satisfied Jaggers would not have been before the court at all "had it not been for the intervention in her life of others".