A man who turned up at a Fife MSP’s office with a burning paint tray before threatening him has been jailed for 22 months.
Peter Batten went to David Torrance’s constituency office in Kirkcaldy’s Kirk Wynd with the flaming material and tried to open the door just minutes before the MSP returned having gone out to buy printer paper.
Batten returned to the office a short time later to tell the MSP he had “let him down” and that he was “going to get it” and Mr Torrance was forced to press the panic button.
Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard Batten had weeks earlier entered the same office and become angry at two female staff members there, leading one of them to retreat to the back of the office to call police.
The court was told Batten wanted to take a grievance to his MSP about still being on the sex offenders register when he believed he should not have been.
On another occasion, Batten tried to take a police officer’s Taser from his holster during a struggle at a hospital.
‘Terrifying behaviour’
The 55-year-old appeared in the dock from custody to plead guilty to four charges of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner likely to cause fear or alarm, spanning a period between March 14 and May 17 last year.
Sheriff Robert More told Batten the offending must attract a custodial sentence.
“It’s set against a background which, though it might not have been upper most in your mind at the time… that being the murder of two elected representatives in recent years going about their business as members of parliament.
“Otherwise, it’s pretty terrifying behaviour on your part.”
Sheriff More jailed Batten for a total of 22 months, backdated to May 20 last year when he was remanded.
He also made a non-harassment order that Batten does not enter or attempt to enter Mr Torrance’s constituency office for five years.
Following the sentencing, Mr Torrance told The Courier: “Any member (of parliament) who is serving the public should not have to take that level of abuse and intimidation or threats of violence. That goes for my staff as well.
“I think the sentence is appropriate and sends a message out there that it won’t be tolerated.”
Mr Torrance said the incident “could have been a lot more serious” had he been in the office when Batten arrived with the paint tray, referred to in court papers as a “bucket of burning material”.
Mr Torrance noted the police response that day was “seriously quick”.
Burning paint tray
Batten was placed on the sex offenders register in November 2021 for having a child abuse image on a computer.
He later breached his supervision period.
Prosecutor Sarah Smith told the court Batten had grievances regarding GDPR and had been visiting the MSP’s office regularly in the week leading up to the offending.
On March 14, Batten entered the office and was told by two female case workers, due to the nature of his grievances, he should come back when the officer manager was present.
He became upset and angry and shouted: “I’ve got my rights, I need this sorted.”
The court heard Batten started “foaming at the mouth” and began to shout and swear
One of the workers moved into the back office to phone police.
After later handing himself in, he was released with conditions not to return to the office but on the morning of Sunday April 14, at around 11.40am, Batten arrived with a paint tray.
The fiscal depute said: “He set the contents of the paint tray alight, walked to the front door of the office and tried to open it.
“On finding it to be locked, he stated: ‘Sh*t, never timed it right, never time anything right’ and walked away from the office, trying to blow out the materials which were on fire”.
Around five minutes later Mr Torrance and a local councillor arrived and saw Batten walking away, still carrying the burning tray.
He returned, without the tray, and began shouting and swearing at the MSP, telling him he had “let him down”.
Mr Torrance reminding Batten of his bail conditions but was told: “The bail conditions don’t matter”.
Mr Torrance repeatedly asked Batten to leave but he refused and feeling, “increasingly threatened” pressed a panic button to alert police.
Batten kept shouting and swearing at Mr Torrance and saying “you are going to get it”.
Mr Torrance and another person tried to shut the office door but Batten pushed it open and kept shouting and swearing, before leaving.
At round 12.10pm police found him outside Kirkcaldy train station and he became hostile to officers, making homophobic comments.
The paint tray had been found nearby and put out with a fire extinguisher.
Further offending
The court heard that Batten had also been confrontational at the front desk of Levenmouth police station on May 17 last year, struggling with officers until he was handcuffed.
He was taken to Victoria Hospital to be assessed and again lashed out at police as he tried to leave, even managing to grab a taser before being restrained.
Batten was assessed by a mental health team and deemed fit to be released back into police custody later that day.
Defence lawyer David Bell said Batten had gone to the MSP’s office because police told him he was still subject to sex offender notification requirements when he believed he should not have been.
The solicitor said Batten had tried to protest his innocence at the sheriff clerk’s office and ultimately sought Mr Torrance for assistance, having become “incredibly stressed and frustrated” about matters and feeling no one was helping.
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