Man jailed for sending threatening letter to former Home Secretary

A man has been jailed for sending threatening letter to former Home Secretary Priti Patel.

Pooneeraj Canakiah, 65, previously admitted sending the grossly offensive letter to Ms Patel at an earlier hearing. On 26 April 2023, he was sentenced to five months’ imprisonment at Westminster Magistrates’ Court. 

The letter, which was addressed to Ms Patel and had the words ‘personal letter’ handwritten upon it, was opened by a member of her staff on 22 January 2022. It was not seen by the former Home Secretary. 

Forensic testing revealed that a letter to the DVLA had been written by Canakiah on top of the paper used for the letter to Ms Patel. Analysis of indentations in the paper revealed Canakiah’s name and address, and further analysis of the handwriting on the envelope and letter proved that he was the author.

When interviewed by the police, Canakiah denied having written the letter but eventually pleaded guilty to one offence of sending a letter conveying an indecent or offensive message on 15 March 2022.

Senior Crown Prosecutor Lauren Doshi, from the Complex Casework Unit of the Crown Prosecution Service in London South, said: “The content of the letter was grossly offensive and abusive.

“Canakiah thought that he would not be caught, however, forensic analysis proved that he wrote the letter.”

“This conviction and sentence sends a clear message, that threats of this nature are taken very seriously and will not be tolerated. The CPS will not hesitate to prosecute such offences whenever our legal test is met."