Updated: 11 августа, 2026 4:47 пп
London resident Richard Kendal has been indefinitely detained for compulsory psychiatric treatment in a mental hospital for systematic stalking, death threats, and antisemitic abuse targeted at senior British judges and court staff. The order was issued by Judge Marcus Tregilgas-Davey at Kingston Crown Court to protect the public.
The court heard that 62-year-old Kendal suffers from psychosis and a delusional disorder stemming from a belief in a 'judicial conspiracy' following his 2009 divorce. In March this year, Kendal was declared unfit to stand trial due to his condition. A jury subsequently examined the evidence and found that he had sent abusive letters to around 50 judges, carried out racially aggravated harassment of Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring, stalked Sir Andrew McFarlane, the former President of the Family Division of the High Court, and legal adviser Elizabeth Hardy, and breached a court order regarding his ex-wife, Ruth Garner.
Between January 2024 and July last year, Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring received hundreds of emails from Kendal. The messages contained death threats, antisemitic slurs, and references to the Holocaust. In one email, Kendal—who is Jewish himself—claimed he had placed a QR code in his shop displaying Holocaust imagery and suggesting the magistrate's complicity. Furthermore, in April 2024, the defendant twice went to Westminster Magistrates' Court in an attempt to confront Goldspring in person.
The stalking of former President of the Family Division Sir Andrew McFarlane began as early as 2021. In January of that year, Kendal sent him a letter mentioning heart surgery and promising to 'release the hounds.' In January 2024, he also attempted to initiate a private prosecution against Mrs Justice Arbuthnot and threatened legal adviser Elizabeth Hardy with physical violence.
Chief Magistrate Goldspring stated in court that Kendal's actions caused him deep anxiety and fears for his own safety and that of his family when leaving the court building. Legal adviser Elizabeth Hardy also confirmed that she perceived the threats as a genuine risk to her life.
Prosecutor Laura Blackband noted that Kendal was unable to accept the end of his 13-year marriage and the financial terms of the divorce, spending years on litigation and personal vendettas. During police questioning, the defendant claimed he did not remember sending the letters, alleged that his email had been hacked by the government, and mentioned that he had been a multi-millionaire before his 'life was ruined.' Despite a 2013 restraining order, he also sent his ex-wife 33 abusive letters over a five-month period.
Issuing the hospital order, Judge Tregilgas-Davey emphasized that Kendal remains fixated on the idea of an establishment conspiracy and allowed his grievance over the divorce to ruin his own life. As part of the sentence, the court also imposed a new restraining order prohibiting Kendal from contacting Sir Andrew McFarlane, Paul Goldspring, Ruth Garner, Elizabeth Hardy, and retired judge Sir Nicholas Mostyn.
Source: thejc.com
